Never say Goodbye
by Cloud-Dancer103
Summary: When Megan's cousin says she needs to get out of the house more, she takes that as an invitation to go on the road trip of her life. She just doesn't know how literal that can be. When she discovers that the car that she fixed up is actually a giant (somewhat) friendly alien robot spy, who needs to warn his leader of a coming invasion, all she can do is help and go with the flow.
1. Chapter 1: Beginnings

**Ok so here I go. My first attempt here on at writing my own fan fiction…. oh dear. Normally I'm quite shy so posting anything publicly like this is a little out of character for me but I'll give it a go. First off this is my playtime in the transformers universe so keep that in mind. Second kindly review, since I'm taking the time to share at least take the time to jot down a thought or two at the bottom. Third my muse has the bad habit of taking me into the middle of nowhere and leaving me for dead so if that happens it's your job to send out a smoke signal to get me back home. (Translation: If my story gets boring or stops making sense tell me please.)**

**Muse: I don't do that.**

**Me: Yes you do, quit lying.**

**Muse: When have I ever done that to you?**

**Me: (Glares and points at wattpad)**

**Muse: … oh, right.**

**Me: Oh and I don't own Transformers, and (cry) likely never will. I only own Megan.**

_'Thoughts'_

"Speech"

:Comm. link:

* * *

**Warning: Energon levels critical.**

**Stasis lock override pending. Systems check. Results: Repairs and replacement parts required.**

**Damaged systems: **

**Cloaking: Inoperable, replacement necessary.**

**Holo-emitter: Inoperable, replacement necessary.**

**Spark energy cloaking: Operating at full capacity. Error: Systems cannot disengage, repairs necessary.**

**Comm. System: Inoperable, repairs necessary.**

**Systems check complete, stasis lock override approved, online pending.**

Mirage's optics flickered, shuttered a few times and slowly came back online. He carefully and meticulously scanned his surroundings before even daring to even twitch a ped. No Decepticon activity that he could detect, thank Primus. The crevice in the asteroid where he had taken refuge seemed to have gone undisturbed and unnoticed, not that he would be taking any chances. He tried to get back on his peds but the white-hot pain that lanced down his chassis and set his systems screaming convinced him to lay still for the moment.

_'Fragging Decepticon got in a lucky shot.'_ He fumed to himself.

He, Bluestreak, Prowl and Hound had been answering to Optimus's call and were quickly approaching the solar system of their new 'home' when they had been ambushed by five Decepticons. Mirage covered the other's retreat while he had provided an invisible distraction by attacking right back. Prowl hadn't liked it, but it was the best plan with the highest chances of success. Mirage had taken out two of their attackers before deciding to catch up with his friends.

Unfortunately for Mirage one of the Deceptions had fired off a wild pot-shot, and by some unlucky miracle had hit the invisible spy in the back, knocking out his cloaking system making him visible. The three remaining Decepticons then chased him into this systems asteroid belt where he had decided to take a chance. By first completely deactivating his spark cloak, leaving him easily found on their scanners, and once they were out of optic sight activated it again at full strength and hiding in an asteroid crevice before the pain of his injuries had sent him into stasis lock.

It would appear his ruse had worked. Even if they couldn't find his chassis, the sudden disappearance of his spark signature would have led them to the conclusion that they had managed to offline him. The ruse had left him unable to deactivate the spark cloaking and very damaged but at least he was still online. He checked his chronometer, apparently he had been in stasis for almost half an orn. His fellow autobots were likely planet side by now and the Decepticons having moved on, but Mirage wasn't going to be caught with his back to the enemy for a second time.

He ignored the warnings from his system and dragged himself to his peds without crying out in pain. He carefully approached the entrance to his temporary shelter and cautiously scanned around. There, on the edge of his scanners he caught the signature of two approaching Decepticons. He slunk back into his shelter, concealing himself in the darkest corner and cooling his systems so he gave off little in the way of a heat signature. The Decepticon signals continued to approach, until they were right outside his hideout, he pulled out his blade and readied himself to go down fighting. He heard them beginning to speak, and true to his spy occupation he turned up his audio receptors to listen.

"I hate patrol. Remind me why we follow that weakling Starscream's orders?" The Decepticon speaking had a very high-pitched, annoying voice.

"Because he's a complaining slagger who will report us for insubordination." This Decepticon sounded like he was ready to slag his companion just for the silence it would bring.

"Right. Frag, I'm just so board. We do nothing but patrol between the occasional raid on that pathetic mudball of a planet. How long do you think Lord Megatron will keep us waiting to finally wipe-out those blasted autobots?"

"Lord Megatron wants no mistakes this time. He will wait until we have enough reinforcements to overwhelm the autobots and their human allies. Judging from how quickly we're gathering I assume we'll be ready to launch our attack in three, maybe four orns. In the mean time we are to patrol and pick off any autobots incoming from bolstering the autobot lines."

"Indeed. We better not let any get past on our watch. Did you see what happened to the other patrol? They'll be sporting those scars for vorns." The one with the high voice cackled.

The pair of Decepticons continued on their way, Mirage waited until long after they disappeared off his scanners to move from his place. He subspaced his blade and, painfully but with great urgency he made his way away from the asteroid and the Decepticons. His system continued to flash low energon warnings as he transformed into his cometary form for landing, and made his way to earth.

* * *

Lennox made his way to the Nevada NEST base monitor rooms for the daily report. A few men sat idly watching a few monitors and playing cards. Monitor duty was the most boring job on base, usually reserved as a form of mild punishment for the more hot-headed soldiers. An older gentleman, by the name of Merill, who had seen his fair share of the battlefield over the years, but was too stubborn to retire, was in charge of the monitor room.

"Lennox." Merill greeted with a lax salute from his chair.

"At ease." Lennox chuckled.

"If you insist." Merill shrugged, adjusted his crossed legs and leaned a little further back in his chair with a grin. Lennox rolled his eyes at the man.

"Anything to report?"

"Well, we thought we had something about an hour ago. Just a glitch though, in the time it took to just look up at the monitor it was gone. Probably just another solar flare. If it was one of the big guys it would have us tripping all over each other."

"Hmmm," Lennox said as he peered at the monitor. "Well, keep a good eye on it. The big guys are expecting a friend soon. Apparently he got separated from the last batch of incomers. They've been expecting him for days now, and their getting worried." Lennox passed a hand over his face and sighed.

"Well let me know if anything changes."

"Sir, yes sir."

* * *

"Hey, Megan. Megan? Earth to Megan."

Megan snapped out of her thoughts with a start. She had been staring absently into her breakfast cereal, not really feeling hungry. She looked up into the face of her blond-haired, brown-eyed cousin, Jake. He was taller than her five foot five-inch frame by about half a head, even though she was older than him by two months. A fact she never let him forget. He smiled down at her from the other side of the dinner table, it was a sad half-smile. Megan hated that look, but hid her irritation by taking a bite of her disgusting breakfast.

"You ok?"

"Oh, hey Jake. Sorry, I haven't been sleeping very well. To much on my mind you know? Did you need something?"

Jake regarded his cousin carefully. Her hazel eyes looked heavy from lack of sleep and her face, which was usually more prone to smiling, seemed paler which made her freckles standout on her nose. Her pixy short, brown hair was stuck up in all directions in it's usual morning disarray. He frowned as she pushed aside her cereal.

"Megan, you need to eat more."

"Is that all?" She snorted sarcastically at him.

"No, that's not all. You need to get out of the house more. I think you need a hobby or something Megan."

"A hobby he says. I have a hobby, I actually have plenty of hobbies. I read, I draw, I even do all the chores that uncle Dan and aunt Lisa give me." Jake shook his head at her.

"That's no way to live your life and you know it Megan." Jake sighed heavily.

"As much as it hurts and sucks, you need to find out what you want to do with your life." He said hesitantly as he stood up. "Think about it at least. I have to go back to the shop, I'll see you at supper."

Megan said nothing as her cousin got up and left, the door swinging closed gently behind him. Megan poked at her breakfast before dumping it down the sink and cleaning the kitchen. Once that was done there really was nothing left for her to do. She poked through the mail that had come yesterday, thinking over her cousins words. She agreed with him, for the most part anyway.

_'The only problem is, what's the point anymore?'_ She sighed again.

Megan's hands stilled over the last envelope in the stack. It was neatly addressed to her. She hesitated for a moment, then carefully picked it up and opened it with caution, as if what ever was inside might shatter. She read the letter, blinked a few times, then read it again. Apparently she had won V.I.P backstage passes to a show in L.A., the tickets in her other hand looked real enough anyway. She struggled for a moment before recalling having entered the draw at a fundraiser almost a month ago. A small thrill of excitement even dared to curl into her chest. The dates on the two tickets gave her a little under two months to make plans.

She looked down at the tickets, thinking of the conversation she just had with her cousin and biting her lip. She stared at the tickets as if they were her personal Pandora's box. She couldn't ask her aunt, uncle or cousin to come, they all had jobs and lives to live. While she however, apparently needed to get out of the house more and had at least a year of free time on her hands. So if she was going to live her life, as her cousin had so eloquently put it, why not **really** live it? Immediately a dozen ideas jumped into her mind for her road trip of a lifetime, which led to her spending the rest of her day on the computer and phone making plans.

_'First things first. I'm going to need a car.'_ She thought to herself with a grin.

* * *

**Phew! Ok, how was that? Do you have questions? Good, 'cause that's what I was aiming for. Send me your questions and I will try to answer without spoiling anything. Is it to Mary-sueish? I hope not, and much more of Megan's character will be revealed in the next chapter. I cannot believe just how difficult it is trying to keep Mirage in character, even in this short little chapter. I might have a hard time writing him. If any of you can give me any advice or reading material that would help me out with getting him right I'm open to suggestions. READ AND REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2: Meetings

**Ok so you guys have been reviewing plenty which is great motivation to produce more chapters faster for you guys. It would seem that reviews are the food of the plot bunnies in my head, the more reviews the more they run rampant in my brain. This story seems to have the bunnies moving faster then a sugar high, worse someone seems to have given them weapons so I've been more the a little motivated to give you guys this chapter. (Please make them put down the rocket launcher) So for more chapters read and review!**

"Speech"

_'Thoughts'_

:Comm link:

* * *

Mirage was pretty sure that Primus hated him. His systems screamed warnings at him about his energon levels as he tried to find the strength to pull himself from the crater he had made on impact. He had expected landing to be easy, as the atmosphere of this organic planet was relatively clear, with just enough cloud cover to keep from startling any of the planets inhabitants. Unfortunately for Mirage just as he was entering the earths magnetic field a solar flare hit at the same time.

Under normal circumstances the flare would have had little, if any, effect on him but in his damaged state his systems were exposed and vulnerable. His systems jammed and misfired, static filling his processor, it was all he could do to try to aim for an area without a nearby population of organics. He lay in his crater for several minutes, diverting most of his energy to processing the human internet, being sure to download language and landmark files. He checked his location and gave a small groan, he was hundreds of miles away from the source of Optimus's signal, he was in someplace called Montana it would appear.

First things first, he had to get out of this crater. It took him some time but eventually he was leaning his earth caked chassis against a tree. He was running purely on reserve energy now, he knew he couldn't afford to keep pushing away stasis for much longer. He needed an alt-form, a way to hide, and he couldn't afford be choosy about it. His scanners picked up a large source of metal less then a mile away and he made his way toward it, through the woods, as the sky began to lighten in the east.

Mirage found himself in a human junkyard. The abandoned, rusted out remains of a few hundred vehicles and random parts sat in a fenced off area, which he easily cleared in a single step. None of the cars seemed fit for scanning let alone driving, several were sitting on cinder blocks rusting slowly into the ground. He stumbled slowly further in, leaving a small trail of leaking energon as he struggled to remain online and search for an alt-form. He finally found some vehicles that weren't rusting and would fit his mass.

A faded red color that matched his mass caught his optic and without a second thought he scanned it, and with his last reserves of energon transformed. Parts adjusted and settled as he fell onto his tires and the sun rose over the horizon.

_'I have to warn Prime.'_ He thought as emergency stasis claimed his processor.

* * *

"Why on earth are we _here_?"

Jake's tone would suggest that he thought that this was a waste of time and he would rather be anywhere else, but his body language said he wanted to be out in the junk searching for hidden iron treasure. If he was a puppy his tail would have been going a million miles a minute. Jake was a mechanic with a love for tinkering, he'd been working in his dads auto part shop and messing with machine parts since he was little. Even though the two were both nineteen Jake was by far the least mature, put a car part in front of him and he all but turned into a little kid.

"We are _here_ to find me a car. Something of a fix-it-up kind of project without costing an obscene amount of money to do it."

"Ya, but why? What do you need a car for?" Megan arched an eyebrow at him as he parked the pick-up at the house in front of the town junkyard.

"Weren't you the one who said I need a hobby? I know it's unlikely we'll find something that even runs here, but I have money in the bank to buy parts and a cousin who's willing to help me with repairs." She said with a sly smirk as she jumped out the passenger side. He circled the truck and walked with her toward the house.

"Oh really? And which cousin would that be? Because I'm less than willing and see no reason to get involved." He smirked right back and gave Megan a playful shove. She pushed him again, nearly sending him into a garden bed.

"You'll be willing to help or I tell Susann McCannon who's had a crush on her since 3rd grade." She chuckled.

He fell behind her muttering something about 'not playing fair' as a large dog came barking out from under the porch and the owner of the junkyard, Alex, came to see what the fuss was about. Megan was nearly tackled to the ground by the large German Shepherd which proceeded to pounce and prance around her like a puppy despite his old age and great size.

"Rain, you daft dog, leave Megan alone and get over here." The dog complied with the same over-excitement that he had used to greet Megan with.

Alex was an elderly man, who even in his old age had a head of silvery hair and laugh lines around his mouth and eyes. Megan's uncle Dan did a lot of business with Alex for when he needed to try and find an older part for a client. Alex was a crafty old codger who loved to haggle but in the end always gave a fair price, in exchange for a shared meal and some company.

"You two here searching for another part for your father?" Alex asked as he absently petted his dogs head, the dog stilling only slightly at his touch.

"We're looking for something a little bigger then just a part this time Al. Megan needs a car for cheap and we thought we might find something here." Jake shrugged, as if not entirely convinced.

"Hmm. Well most of everything in there is completely picked over, or completely out of commission. I don't know if you'll find a drivable vehicle in there but you can try. There might be something in the far corners of the yard that someone's missed. You know where the key to the fence is so don't let me stop you, and take Rain with you, he needs the exercise."

Jake ran to the old gardening shed to get the key while Megan threw a stick for Rain a few times. Megan had once asked Al why he named the dog Rain, the crazy old man had just laughed and said because Sunny sounded like a stupid name. Once the fence was open both Jake and Rain disappeared into the surrounding piles of junk. Megan took Al's advice and started making her way toward the back of the yard, stopping occasionally to look at the more promising vehicles.

It didn't look good, even the promising cars were in bad shape from years of wear and tear and bad weather conditions. Some were missing seats, one was missing a roof, and several others looked like one good kick would finish them off for good. Megan wandered for an hour or so and was beginning to think it was hopeless when Rain came running from around the corner. The normally fearless Shepherd was wining and growling slightly with his tail between his legs. Megan reached down and comforted the shaking animal.

"What's wrong Rain? Did the squirrels start fighting back?"

Megan cautiously poked her head around the corner of junk and car parts, just in case it was something like a bear or cougar. Bigger animals like that usually had more sense then to come close to human habitation, but Al's junkyard was far enough from the outskirts of Fort Benton for it to be a possibility. There was nothing to be afraid of that she could see, instead her eyes lit up as she spotted two very promising looking vehicles. She gave Rain a final comforting pat before going to checkout her find.

The two cars that side by side were eerily similar, same dents, make, model and faded red paint job. The only real difference was one was literally caked in mud, it looked like it had lost a fight with a mudslide. Megan wondered at the coincidence of two completely identical cars sitting side by side but shrugged it off. She was the first person who would agree with the fact that life was just full of strange happenings. Megan started to brush some of the mud off the one on the right when she heard Jake calling her name.

"Over here! I think I found one!"

Jake came jogging around the corner with Rain at his heels. Rain froze, stiff legged at the sight of the cars. He wined and hid under one of the other cars.

"What's wrong with Rain? He's acting kind of strange."

"Who knows? Maybe he's going senile like his master." Jake shrugged with a chuckle. He examined the two cars with a critical mechanics eye, completely ignoring the fact they seemed to be exactly similar.

"Not a bad find. Both are classic 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500's. Neither seem to be in great shape but if one of them is missing a part we can scavenge it from the other. I think we'll be better off with this one on the left. That one filthy, and looks like it's busted something real bad." He pointed to the ground under the one Megan stood by. He was right, a large puddle of some kind of strange blue substance covered the ground under the mud covered one.

"Upholstery's in good shape in this one to." Jake said as he dived into the driver's seat of the left one, he continued to chatter but Megan wasn't completely listening. Megan continued to brush the mud off the other car, not much caring about getting dirty. Her fingers paused as she brushed a strange decal on the hood, she hadn't spotted it because it was red like the paint and covered in mud. It looked like some kind of face, solemn and sad but somehow noble.

"… and then it'll be as good as new." Jake said as he climbed out of the car and closed the door with a slam and a smile on his face.

"Uh? Oh, ya. Actually, I think we should fix this one."

"What? Why? That ones busted, and I don't even know if I'll be able to fix it never mind if the thing will be drivable."

"Woman's intuition?" Megan shrugged with a grin. Jake sighed but didn't immediately shut her down. Instead he came over and tried to lift the hood, which appeared to be stuck. Jake gave up with a sigh and gave Megan a look.

"We don't know what's wrong with this one. So can we just do the easy thing for once and get the one that actually may be in good condition?"

But Megan was stubborn, and her intuition was telling her to get this car, not the other one, no matter if it was busted or not. Broken things could be fixed, and she had learned the hard way to listen to what her gut told her.

"Ok mister smarty pants. How does the engine on the other one look?" Jake scoffed at her and reached for the hood on the other car.

"See? This one is just… fine?" His voice trailed off into a sad question. Megan came over and burst out laughing. The engine on the other car was completely missing, someone had just taken the whole thing leaving an engine-less vehicle.

"T-told you!" Megan laughed breathlessly, Jake only pouted and slammed the hood closed again.

"Oh come on what makes you think someone hasn't done the same thing to this one? We can't even open the hood to check."

"Again, woman's intuition. I'm sure it will be fine. Since we can't find any other options this'll have to be the one. We should go find Al." She patted the hood and started to turn around but paused when Jake grabbed her elbow. The serious expression on his face made her bite back her sarcastic question.

"Megan. Why do you need a car? I know you, and you never do anything without a reason. Are you going somewhere? You can tell me, no one but you and I will know." His eyes practically begged an answer from her. Megan's shoulders slumped and she gave a heavy sigh.

"I won some V.I.P tickets for a show in Vegas and thought I'd go on a trip, get out and see the world a little you know? There's no point in me going to college or anything once summer's over, and I don't want to just sit back like a lump. I did some looking online and found a bunch of stuff I want to do and try and see." She looked into his face, begging for him to understand with her eyes.

"I need to do this." They looked at each other for a long moment before he nodded and wrapped her in a quick, one armed hug.

"I know. Your right, you do need this. Mom and Dad won't like it, but I think if we fix up the car before telling them they won't say no." He stepped back out of the hug and blew some of his hair out of his face with a huff.

"Oh so we're playing the 'but we've already made all the plans for it' card?" Megan grinned.

"You bet! Besides, once they see how important it is to you they'll agree anyway. So lets go find Al and we can get started." He started walking back to Al's place with a still wining Rain close to his heels. Megan followed after giving the car one last long look.

_'I got a good feeling about that car.'_

Al was happy that Megan had found a decent car in his yard and refused payment despite her insistence. He said he would be happy enough with a few home cooked meals. He also offered them the use of the old abandoned barn that he used as a shed and workshop, in exchange for her to tend his garden for a few weeks. Megan readily accepted since the garage back at home was already occupied by her aunt and uncles vehicles.

Megan and Jake wasted no time, borrowed Al's tow truck and got the car into the old barn. It looked like whatever was leaking the strange blue substance they had seen earlier had stopped or run out. Jake wanted to leave and get lunch but Megan was far to excited to leave, so while Jake went and got some fast food in town Megan started to work on her new car.

The first thing she did was borrow some cleaning supplies from Al and wash off all the mud and muck. Just like the hood, the doors were stuck or locked and impossible to open without a tool or key, so she moved on to washing the outside. She could have sworn the car shuddered just a little from the cold water but she chalked it up to having gotten little sleep the night before and an overactive imagination. The paint looked even worse once it was clean, so faded it was dull and bordering on an unattractive orange color. Sunlight from the high windows dried the car quickly enough.

"You need a new paint job my friend." She muttered as she finished drying and Jake rolled in with a burger and fries for her.

She ate quickly listening to Jake chatter about what he could do to fix it up and comment on the car's condition. He tried the doors and hood again, to no avail. He even dared to kick the hood in frustration.

"Hey! You kick that car again I'll shove your wrench set where the sun don't shine. He has been through enough without you abusing him, thank you very much." She stomped over and gave her cousin a hard shove.

"Him? Aren't most cars girls?" Her cousin questioned good naturedly.

"Yes, him. Just look at the body shape, mustang's have a distinctly angular, more male shape to them." She stomped back to her seat by the door of the barn to finish her fries.

"Next thing you know and you'll have named it." He scoffed. "What was the last one named, the beetle you drove into the ground before you finally let it get put down."

"Tinkerbell." Megan said sadly, she missed that car. Jake struggled to contain his laughter.

"Shut up. Tink was a girl car all the way and she came with a small Tinkerbell window decal. Hence the name." She flicked a fry at him which he caught in his mouth with a smirk. Jake tried the hood once again before giving up with a sigh.

"Let me try." Megan came over once again and gave a small tug on the hood latch, there was a pause, then the hood popped open.

"How did you do that?" Asked Jake with a glare at the hood.

"A gentle touch?" Megan shrugged.

Jake lifted the hood, froze, and gave a low whistle. Megan wasn't very familiar with engines as a whole but had lived with both her cousin and uncle long enough to tell that the shiny chrome and metal was more then a little out of place in such an old car. It looked pretty expensive and judging from her cousins drooling reaction, it was.

"Sooo… I'm guessing it's a good engine?"

"Megan this is the kind of engine that race cars _wish_ they had. I mean just look at the contours of it, the way it was designed to…"

Jake went on a mechanic fangirl moment, babbling on and on as Megan went back to her stool and sat down. She stared at the car as Jake hunkered over it admiring it aloud, all but diving into it to get a better look. It just didn't make much sense, an engine like that would have been picked apart in a junkyard in seconds flat. Megan had been to the junkyard searching for parts for her uncle enough to know that finding even one half decent part was slim, but an entire engine like the one in front of her?

Ya, she wasn't stupid enough to believe that she had just won the junkyard equivalent of the billion dollar lottery. But what other explanation was there?

_'Maybe it's a fake engine? Like the kind in some show cars. Doesn't actually run but just looks pretty?'_ Megan thought with a frown.

She shook her head. It wasn't worth giving herself an aneurism over trying to find a more reasonable explanation, she'd just have to accept it at face value, for now anyway. She turned her attention back to her cousin, who looked like he was afraid to touch the engine for fear of getting it dirty.

"So does that mean it'll run?" She interrupted his little rant. He jumped a little, apparently having forgotten that she was even there.

"This thing will run better then any car you've ever had the pleasure of driving. There probably isn't going to be much for me to do engine wise. I just wish we had the keys so we could hear it run." Jake said wistfully.

"But what about that blue stuff we saw earlier? Wasn't it leaking?"

"I can't find anything wrong with this car. It was probably just some oil leaking from one of the other cars, let it go Megan. This car is a great find, with a little cosmetic work it'll be beautiful."

"I'll get a key cut when we get back to town." Megan glanced at her watch.

"Umm… Jake? Don't you have to work at the parts shop today?"

Jake looked at the time on his phone and gasped.

"Oh man! I'm gunna be late, and then dad'll have my head, and then I'll be grounded and then I'll be lucky to see the light of day ever again." He ranted as he closed the hood and grabbed his jacket as he dashed for his truck. He paused for a moment and looked back at Megan.

"You coming?"

"No, I don't want to make you late. Besides, I promised Al some home cooked meals, so if you want to come pick me up after you close the shop that would be awesome."

"Will do." Jake yelled as he peeled out of Al's driveway and down the road.

Megan chuckled at the large dust cloud that Jake kicked up in his haste. Jake was so scatterbrained sometimes, he reminded her a lot of her brother. She winced slightly at that train of thought and quickly turned back to the barn to find something to distract her. She went over to the work table that dominated on wall she cleaned up a small space and opened up a dirty old road map that she found under some paint cans. She started to plan out her route, marking highways she would take with a pencil, and as she did so she talked aloud out of habit.

"Its going to be a long trip. A few weeks at least, maybe a few months at most. I'm planning on doing just about everything that catches my eye from here to Texas. Hopefully you can keep up with me, you look like you have more then a few miles already under your tires." She turned and began speaking to the car.

Talking to cars was an old habit that she had picked up from her dad. Her dad had been her uncles brother and that whole side of the family seemed to have something to do with vehicles. She could still recall when she was younger learning how to do an oil change from her dad in the family garage. She never really spoke to her mothers side of the family anymore, not since the accident. Megan flinched again at her train of thought.

"I'm really not doing a good job with distracting myself." She muttered then turned her attention to the car.

"You really do need a name though. I mean I can't just call you 'car' all the time. Don't worry, it won't be anything like Tinkerbell I promise. For such a cool car you need a cool name, something classy and mysterious."

She grabbed a piece of paper and jotted down a few ideas, crossing some of them out before she had even finished writing them. She spoke aloud the entire time, finding comfort in the sound of her voice and the scratching pencil. She didn't notice how the car seemed to shudder slightly at the more horrible choices and relaxed as she crossed them out. Eventually she got bored and frustrated that she had found no suitable names for her new car and moved on to a different topic.

She started to talk paint colors and it was decided that she would have to stick to the red, but it had to be a dark red, almost bordering on purple. At one point Rain tried to come visit her in the barn, but had run away whimpering when he saw the car. Megan wondered if she should suggest to Al that he take Rain into the vet's for a check-up. Then until supper she calculated how much her trip would cost, if she stuck to her still vague and murky plans. Before she left the barn she gave the car a solid pat on the roof.

"I'll be back tomorrow." She told it, unaware that the car might be listening.

* * *

Mirage had been aware of the two organics the whole day, listening and watching. His time in emergency stasis had healed most of the superficial damage. He at least wasn't going to offline from loss of energon anymore, but he was still to weak to transform. He had hoped that they would take the other car that he had scanned earlier but the female had won out in the end.

He was unsure what to think of these strange little beings. The male, Jake, was certainly far to excitable in his opinion, moving to fast and speaking louder then was necessary. The female, Megan, however was quieter, and more observant. When ever she spoke Jake would seem to unconsciously stop and listen, she knew how to handle Jake and his energy. She had even taken the time to wash him of the annoying mud and dirt that he had collected from the night before.

The most important fact to Mirage was that she was planning on taking a trip. Once Jake had left she had spoken to him as if she knew he was sentient, though it seemed to be more of an unconscious act then actually expecting an actual conversation. He had listened keenly to her plans and routes that she planned on taking, and determined that this could be his chance.

His holo-emitter had been damaged by the Decepticons, and it was simple to determine from the internet that humans would react badly to a car driving itself. Optimus's signal had been very clear on the fact that they were not to unnecessarily expose themselves to the humans. He would wait until they were closer to Optimus's signal, then once she had her back turned he would disappear and get to base as fast as he could. She would assume he had been stolen and find another way back home. He snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a gentle hand pat him of the roof.

"I'll be back tomorrow." She called as she left for the day and for a split second Mirage almost felt guilty for deceiving her.

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**Ok that's more then the first chapter at least. I've been getting some good feedback from you guys thank you to everyone who left a review for the first chapter. Lots of people are excited to see a Mirage story up here, which I am glad to provide, I just hope I can live up to your expectations. Thought I should mention that I have some drabbles and short stories that relate to this series called 'Underestimated' if you want to check it out its there. I'll have the next chapter up soon don't forget to review I absolutely love to hear what you guys are thinking!**


	3. Chapter 3: Troubles and Names

**This chapter bit me! Ok so it's mostly fluff and filler but hey you can't have a good pie without filler right? The plot bunnies still won't put the rocket launcher down and the one with the pistol is looking a little trigger happy. Remember, reviews are the food for my plot bunnies so the more reviews the more chapters! This chapter gives you a good look at Megan's character and raises some questions about her past! R&R!**

Megan woke unusually early the next morning, feeling more rested and excited for the day then she had in a long time. It helped that the nightmares hadn't decided to visit her, so for once she got a good sleep. She got ready for her day in record time, dressed in jean shorts and a worn blue tank top she raced to the kitchen for some breakfast. She wolfed down her eggs so fast it could have been considered a choking hazard.

"Somebody's excited for something. Have you got plans today?" Her aunt asked.

Megan's aunt was a homely woman, with homely tastes. Her poker straight, shoulder length, blonde hair was where Jake got his own enviable mop. She kept a clean house and tidy yard with a small garden in the back. Some people would describe her as plain, but the slightly round woman could be the picture definition of 'mother'. The small five foot woman radiated a calm motherly presence that even Jake's rowdy teenage friends responded to with a 'yes, ma'am.'

Unfortunately for Megan her aunt was also gifted with a mothers ability to know just about everything everything, and also sniff out bullshit at fifty paces.

"Just… excited to see such a beautiful day. I was planning on going to the library, they have a book I ordered coming in today." Megan said with what she hoped was a convincing smile.

Her aunt narrowed her light brown eyes at her but didn't say anything to call her out on her lie, and continued her quest to vanquish dust from her house. Megan breathed a small sigh of relief, she was not good at lying and did not want to start. The sooner she could tell her aunt and uncle about the car and trip she was planning the better. She cleaned her dishes and was out of the house within five minutes.

Fort Benton was a small town of about 1500 people, the population fluctuating depending on how many truckers were in town. The summer sun was still rising and the temperature was promising a hot day. Megan checked her mental checklist as she grabbed her bike from the garage. Her first stop was the key cutter's just a few blocks away.

The key cutter's was a quick stop and they promised to have it done in a few hours time. The next stop was the local hardware store to buy the proper supplies to repaint her car. She unconsciously started pedaling slower, dreading going in that direction. In order to get to the only hared wear store that had the exact supplies that she needed she would have to go past the local high school.

Fort Benton was the kind of town that didn't really have anything to do if you were under legal drinking age, unless you counted the local one room theater that closed at ten. So most of the younger population of the town took to hanging around the skate park, even in the summer, which was right beside the local high school. It would be likely that her graduating class would also be there, since it was still early in the summer and people didn't have to make the move to collage quite yet.

Megan picked up her speed, maybe if she went by quickly they wouldn't notice her. Unfortunately for her not only did they notice her, they just about ran her over. A large, ugly, brown pick up truck came careening around the corner and came to a stop over the yellow line, cutting her off. Megan had to grip the breaks and drag her heels on the pavement to keep from running full speed into the passenger side door. Still, it was a close thing her front tire kissed the side.

Obnoxious laughter came out of the rolled down windows, accompanied by a high pitched choking sound that could be called laughter if you were deaf in one ear. Megan looked up from the dun brown siding in her face into the pale blue eyes of a smirking Beatrice Thatch. Her boyfriend, Peter Malcone, was behind the wheel looking very much like the jerk we was.

"Well if it isn't the freak, and just when I thought it was going to be a good day." She said nastily.

Megan had to try very hard not to make a sarcastic remark, and she succeeded.

Almost.

"Someone should tell your dad there's an idiot and a bimbo in a brown truck driving like morons through town."

Beatrice's dad was the local law enforcement of the small town, a fact that Beatrice used to get herself out of trouble many times. She also used it to get people she didn't like into trouble to. She and her boyfriend liked to think that just because they were popular in a small town that that made them such a big freaking deal every where else in the world. Megan had only lived in the small town for the past two years, and in a town were everyone knew everyone else that automatically made her the outsider.

Megan rolled her bike backwards a few feet and started to go around the back but Peter reversed so that the back end cut her off again. There were no cars coming up or down the road, it was likely they could keep this up for several minutes before another car came trundling along the road. Megan would either have to face them or cut through the skate park, where she would no doubt be hassled. She decide to hold her ground.

"You should watch were your going freak, you'll ruin my paint job." Peter jeered over the loud rap music, Megan hated rap music.

"I'd be doing your truck a favor to relieve it of that paint job."

Peter was considered what most people would think handsome, short brown hair, well defined chin, and he had plenty of bulging arm muscles. As far as Megan was concerned he was definitely compensating for something other then his lack of muscle between the ears. He also hated it when somebody insulted his truck. His face now was turning a lovely shade of puce, not really a good color for him. Beatrice spoke up in her nasty, nasally voice.

"You better be careful freak, my dad's been feeling a little lonely back at the station. He might just get a visitor sometime soon." With a toss of her platinum blond hair in obvious dismissal she turned and said something to her little boy toy.

With a roar the truck pulled a defiantly illegal U-turn, nearly hitting Megan once again, and peeled away. Megan just shook her head. It was the same song and dance that's been playing ever since she first arrived in town. She continued on her way and purchased her supplies with no more problems. It was on the way back with the bulky bags strapped onto the basket on the back that she encountered a problem.

She was pedaling past the skate park again when she heard the jeers and taunts. She could have just kept going, it had nothing to do with her and would more then likely just get her into more trouble then it was worth. Then she heard the cry of pain and reflexively looked to find the source. In the park, in one of the heavily graffitied bowls, a large group of older boys and girls were gathered in a circle. Megan recognized a fighting frenzy when she saw one, but was the tenth grader in the middle that she was worried about.

She didn't know the kids name, but she recognized his face from passing him in the school halls. Poor kid looked scared out of his wits, he had probably only gone there to try popping an ollie or two before lunch. He was standing face to face with one of Peter's more scrawny friends, but the guy still towered over the kid by almost a foot. The taller, older, and quite obviously stronger opponent laughed at the kid and gestured for the kid to make the first move. One free hit before the coming beat down.

Megan's blood boiled at the sight, her hands clenched the handle bars in a vice like grip. She could no more walk away then she could jump up and fly. She poured on the steam and biked full throttle at the crowd gathered around the edge of the bowl. She turned her bike so she rammed the people in the back going sideways her momentum sending several people into the bowl. For several seconds chaos reined as people jumped in and helped their friends back up while others assessed the damage to their bodies or clothes.

Megan used that chaos to reach down and yank the kid out of the bowl. She knew that the mob wouldn't be distracted long, already people were looking around for the reason they fell. There wasn't enough room on the bike for the two of them so she shoved the kid on the bike.

"Take the bike to Dan's Auto repair shop and tell Jake what happened. Ok? Now GO!"

The kid seemed to be in shock at his sudden rescue but her yell snapped him out of it and had him pedaling the over-sized bike down the road at top speed. He had just disappeared around the corner when Megan felt a heavy hand clamp down on her shoulder.

"Hey, aren't you the one who pushed us?"

Megan looked over her shoulder that the tall, skinny guy who had been about to fight the kid. Megan recalled that his name was Marty, but for some reason people called him Mo. She shrugged his hand away disdainfully, trying not to shudder at his slimy touch.

"Sorry, you must have me mistaken for someone else." She said snappily and turned to start walking away but the circle was already closing around her and Mo. Nobody in the crowd looked very happy with her.

"No I think you are the one who pushed me and my friends. An' you know what? We don't like being pushed around."

_'Oh crap on a cracker, this will not end well.'_

Megan turned so her right side was facing Mo. Mo was bouncing around on the balls of his feet 'warming up', like some kind of want-to-be boxer. He obviously had no qualms about hitting a girl, or at least not her, the town's social outcast. As the crowds jeers and cheers went to his head Mo had no idea what he was getting into.

Megan was, by nature, one of those 'quick study' kind of people. She was one of those lucky people who paid attention in class and got good grades naturally. By the age of eight she was eligible to become a life guard all but for her age and height, and she had taken gymnastics through her school for years. She had many pursuits outside of school, some for short periods of time and others for years. Everything from figure skating to guitar and voice lessons. Her most recent past time ever since the accident, was fighting styles, because she was determined to never again be helpless.

She flinched slightly and tried to push thoughts of the accident from her mind. They wouldn't help her here. Mo must have mistaken her flinch for fear because he chose that moment to launch himself at her with a right hook to her face.

Only it never landed.

Megan bent her knees enough so his high punch swung harmlessly over her head, then by hooking her leg around his pulled his leg forward. Now that he was properly off balance she gave his shoulder a shove sending him careening toward the barrier of people surrounding them. They caught him and pushed him back into the middle of the circle. He charged at her, his stance wide open and wildly swinging.

She had to end this quickly, so she dodged his wild punches and hit him in the solar plexus effectively winding him. He bent over slightly, arms wrapped around his torso, gasping. Megan moved swiftly behind him and delivered a tap to the back of his knees. Not enough to do damage but giving him enough pain that he curled into the ground wheezing and moaning.

A flash of red and blue lights went off at the edge of her vision and suddenly the crowd scattered. Megan turned to see Beatrice's dad pulling into the skate park a brown truck following close behind the cruiser. Megan could tell how this looked, she was standing over beaten guy in what was left of a fight, even she would jump to the conclusion that she was the guilty party. She smug look that sat on Beatrice's face and that was all the proof that Megan needed to see that the whole thing had been a set up. Megan was so busy glaring daggers at Beatrice that she didn't notice that she made a grave error.

Never turn your back to an enemy.

Mo had gotten his wind back and decided that what ever trouble he was about to get into was worth every shred of dignity he could salvage from being beaten by a girl. He stood tall behind her and before she could notice or react was slugged in the back of the head. She went down, stunned by the powerful blow, but not enough to not feel the kicks he sent into her ribs or the stomp he directed on her spine.

A shout and a scuffle close to her head. She looked up in time to see Jake give Mo a spectacular right hook to the nose. Her head spun in dizzying circles but she still had the presence of mind to admire her cousin's handiwork and Mo's stunned expression before a police officer grabbed him.

_'I'd rate that punch a solid 8.5. Good form, but the wind up could have been better.'_ She thought in a daze.

Someone, Jake, she thought asked her a question and put a hand on her tender back.

" 'm fine." She tried to say and get up at the same time only to lean to far to one side and stumble, but she stayed on her feet.

Jake wrapped an arm over her shoulders, mindful of injuries which were sure to turn into a colorful rainbow of bruises in a few hours. He said something to one of the officers and helped her limp to one of the cop cars, settled her inside, before sitting beside her himself. She sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder and rested until they got to the station.

A nurse who had made a quick trip across the road told her she had some severe bruises on her back and spine and a mild concussion that would wear out in a few hours. Mo on the other hand was sporting a beautiful broken nose and a cracked rib which Megan hoped would be slow and painful to heal.

Parents were called and Mo even dared to threaten to lay assault charges against Megan. Until the kid that Megan had rescued from the mob showed up hours later and told the whole story. In the end everyone went home in the same state of anger and disappointment. Megan's head was much clearer after the small nap she had on Jake's shoulder at the station. She almost wished to go back to the tiny holding cell they had put her in. Anything to avoid her aunt and uncle's wrath when they got home.

Nothing was said as they parked the truck and trudged into the small two story yellow house. By unspoken agreement the family went into the living room. The two accused sitting side by side on the couch while the two adults stood on the other side of the coffee table with arms crossed. There was a moment of silence before her uncle spoke.

"Anyone want to start?" His voice was tense and gruff with frustration.

Megan and Jake shared a look at said 'do you want to or should I?'. Megan sighed and went first. They had already explained it all at the police station but she supposed her uncle and aunt wanted to hear it straight from the horses mouth, so to speak. Megan skipped over her suspicions that it had been a set up and merely recounted the bare facts of what happened. Jake took over when she described Mo taking the cheap shot to the head.

He told them how the kid, who's name was Benjamin, had come storming into the store babbling about Megan and a fight in the skate park. He had arrived the same time as the police and seen the punch, he stopped Mo from causing even more damage and slugged him for good measure. By the time the story was done her Uncle looked a little more calm but her aunt looked like a storm cloud was brewing in her eyes.

"Well then, at least it's all over and we can let it all go." Her uncle sighed, Megan was inclined to agree with him.

His dark, curly brown hair was messy from him running his hands through it nervously. He seemed to shrink in on himself, looking much shorter then his six feet seven inches. Her aunt on the other hand seemed to rise up indignantly at his words.

"Let it go? Megan was practically attacked for simply doing the right thing! I have a mind to go down to the station and having that little git hauled in and thrown in jail!" Megan leapt to her feet, the last thing she needed was to cause an even bigger stir in the little town.

"It's fine aunt Lisa. I'm fine and Mo learned his lesson with a broken nose for a souvenir. The town will have enough to gossip about already."

That calmed her aunt down, if only a little. Megan glanced at the clock.

"I had a few errands I wanted to run before supper. Would it be ok if I took the truck for an hour or two?" Her uncle nodded to her modest request.

"That's a good idea. I don't think you should be biking around town today. Go do your errands and be home before seven ok?"

Megan nodded. That gave her four hours to finish her errands and drop the supplies off at Al's. Jake was given the rest of the day off from the shop so he went to his room to rest. Megan first went to the shop and picked up the supplies and dragged the bike into the back of the truck. Her injuries made it difficult but she sucked it up and forged through it, with more then her fair share of curses of course. She bought insurance for her car and some groceries to make meals for Al that she promised. Finally she picked up her key for her car and made her way to Al's.

Al must have hidden himself among the junk in his yard because when she arrived she could find no sign of the old man. It was a bit of a relief actually, she really didn't want to go over the story again. So she put away the groceries and made her limping way to the barn. The car sat just were she left it in a shaft of sunlight.

"Hey there handsome. Boy, have I had an interesting day let me tell you." She made her way over to the stool and plopped herself down with a slight moan.

Mirage was surprised at Megan's appearance. She had promised yesterday that she would be back but he had not expected her to show up looking as if she came fresh from battle. Her skin was pale, her face drawn, and she was sporting a slight limp on her right leg. He scanned her and cataloged her injuries, she was after all his ticket home. It simply wouldn't do to have his guide damaged and the trip delayed, that's what he told himself anyway.

She was to busy retaking inventory of her bruises to notice the car rocking slightly, as if in shock. She flinched as the foot shaped bruise on her spine gave a painful twinge. She had a small helm injury, but that seemed to be healing already, leaving no permanent processor damage. Mirage swore internally at the sheer _fragility_ of this organic species. At least she wasn't so damaged she needed a human mechanic.

Mirage noted a large number of areas where minor superficial blood vessels had been ruptured, the shape of the bruises led him to the conclusion that she was indeed attacked. But he had no idea as to why. This human seemed mostly non-violent, unless one counted the playful shoves she generally gave to Jake.

She hissed as she got up and tried to stretch the crick out of her back. She passed a weary hand over her face and checked the time. She had a little time before she had to leave and head for home. She tossed the freshly cut key into the air and lightly caught it in the other hand.

"Jake will be mad with me for starting you up for the first time without him here, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him right? It'll be a secret between me and you."

Mirage allowed her to unlock his door with the key. He was uneasy about having an organic in his interior, it was just so strange. It was nothing that he had ever experienced in his many vorns. He could feel her as sensitively as if she was curled next to his spark chamber, every beat of her organic pump could be felt through the drivers seat. She didn't even know he was sentient and yet he felt that by her putting herself in his interior she was trusting him completely with her safety.

Mirage shuddered a little. He was a spy by occupation in this war, as such he was privy to many secrets that many cybertronians didn't even know about themselves. Even among his own autobots there were invisible secrets and walls that no one wanted seen or known about. As a spy complete trust was something very few had ever given him, let alone that he ever gave in return. Megan inserted the key and he started his engine with a courtesy roar.

"Jake was right, you run like a dream" She chuckled and leaned back into the seat, enjoying the rumbling sound of the engine.

She checked the time and gave a small groan. She twisted the key and Mirage reluctantly turned off his engine. She locked his door again and checked that she had all the supplies she would need for the next day.

"Ok, tomorrow we'll start to paint you. That should only take a few days depending on how much time we spend on it. Then we can get the heck out of dodge. I just wish I could think of a proper name for you. She looked thoughtfully at the paper she had been scribbling on the other day, but no new inspiration struck. She threw down the pencil with a sigh and headed for the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She called to the car behind her.

Mirage waited for a long time after Megan had disappeared off scanner range and the nearby older organic had slipped into what passed for a human recharge to transform. He did so quietly, so as to not disturb the hairy quadruped called Rain into barking at him. He stretched for a moment, relishing the feeling of movement before reaching over to the work bench.

With delicacy that Ratchet would have been proud of he grasped the fragile wood and malleable carbon group. He wrote his name on the paper. It simply wouldn't do to have the human calling him, a former cybertronian lord, anything but his name after all. Having completed that task he settled back in his alt-form and went into recharge.

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**Awww! I think Mirage might be starting to care about her welfare! Or is he still just seeing her as a way home? Will he ever trust her enough to transform? Or will his hand be forced? Mwahahaah! R&R!**


	4. Chapter 4: Paint jobs

**Hey! Look what I got for you guys (no its not chinese food). It an update! Ok so I just want to thank all who reviewed the last chapter (so few *cry*) a big thanks to the following: Topkicker26, AndromedaAl, darkpoisonivy, and KeepingThemAtBay. You guys always leave the best reviews and I find myself rereading them to keep myself going. SO here you go, enjoy, and ****read the note at the bottom! There'll be a question for you guys.**

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The next morning was just as gorgeous as the last, made even better by the fact it was a Sunday. Jake and Megan had been able to squeeze out of going to church and took the truck under the disguise of going swimming at the river for the day. When in fact they were, more or less, breaking into her uncles shop and 'borrowing' his industrial sandblaster. Yes they had a key, but that didn't stop her cousin from humming the mission impossible theme song under his breath the entire time they were there.

"Come on hurry up." Megan hissed at him as he double checked the straps holding the large tank in the truck bed.

"Relax would you? The shop is closed on Sundays so dad won't notice it's missing. We have all day to use it and get it back."

"Which is exactly why we should hurry. We only have today to use it to sandblast an entire car which we can't entirely disassemble, which means we have to use it slowly and carefully. It's already going to take all day as it is." Megan sat back in the seat and crossed her arms.

"Oh don't pout Megan. We'll get your car done soon enough, you just haft to be patient." He said ask he jumped in and started the engine.

"Easy for you to say." She muttered, but he didn't hear her over the sound of the truck.

They arrived at Al's and went straight to the barn, the older gentleman waving at them from his seat on the porch as they went by. Jake and Megan unloaded the sandblaster and while Jake set it up and got the equipment ready Megan prepped her car for the procedure.

"Hey handsome. Ok so we got to get you ready for the sandblasting. First off, don't worry about a thing, Jakes done this since he was, like ten, so he knows what he's doing. Second, we need to get off some of your more delicate parts, like the tail lights and chrome so they aren't damaged."

Megan took a few tools and began gently taking off door handles and other fragile parts. Mirage allowed this to happen, with only a little internal grumbling. The parts were only cosmetic after all and not an important part of his systems. He had Sunstreaker detail his paint job before, and this way was by far more preferable than other methods of removing old paint. Or at least better than having to removing all armour panels and take a mild acid bath anyway. Mirage just hoped that Sunstreaker wasn't on earth yet. Because Mirage had the feeling that if he found out that he had allowed humans to do his paint job he'd be in for it.

Once that was finished Megan started the engine and moved him out into the large driveway, down wind from any structures that could become damaged by the dusty process. Once he was in position Megan began to put a heavy canvas in place over the windows and glass. She of course didn't know that even if they used the blaster at full strength they wouldn't even begin to scratch the glass. Mirage stiffened on his shocks as she draped the canvas over his 'windows'.

Strictly speaking, Mirage didn't need his optic sensors to observe his surroundings, in fact his other sensors could tell him much more about his surroundings then his optics ever could. But letting Megan put the canvas over his 'windows' was the closest equivalent of letting her put a blindfold on him. Mirage was no longer sure he preferred this method of repainting. Mirage tried to distract himself by extending his sensors to their fullest range, and checking his surroundings for potential threats. Which only served to make him even more tense.

"There. Don't worry handsome, it'll be over soon." Megan patted the roof in a familiar motion that served to sooth Mirages systems somewhat.

While Mirage wouldn't use the word trust for how he felt toward the little human, he did believe her words and found a sense of calm by monitoring her heartbeat. Jake approached wearing his protective suit, goggles, and breathing protection mask. Megan grinned at the horribly bright, orange, baggy suit and bug-eyed goggles.

"That's a good look for you." She snickered so hard she gave a slight cough and had to catch her breath. Her cousin just glared.

"Haha. Your hilarious." He deadpanned. "So what are you going to do while I work?"

"I promised Al I'd do some work on his garden for letting us use his barn for our little project."

"Are you sure you should be working? Maybe you should rest for a bit. Mo really did a number on you yesterday and I know those bruises hurt. You've been flinching all morning, every time you move."

Mirage fine tuned his audio receptors. He had yet to hear much about why Megan had been attacked and was keenly interested in learning how it had happened. Nothing bothered him more than a question unanswered, it was what made him such a good spy.

"I'll be fine. By the way, thanks for showing up when you did. If you hadn't come along when you did Mo would have done a lot more damage than a few bruises."

"Nobody messes with my cousin and gets away with it." Jake declared smugly and puffed out his chest a little. Megan just rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm just embarrassed that he got the drop on me like that. I should have known he wouldn't be above slugging me in the back of the head like that. I'm going to have to practice a lot more." She sighed.

"For someone who's been learning from a book on how to fight and no teacher, I'd say you're doing just fine. Benjamin looked like he was ready to start a fan club in your name back at the police station."

"Don't even joke about that. I'm just glad I got the kid out before he got hurt. What really ticks me off is that Beatrice and Peter would so shamelessly try to hurt a kid to me in trouble." Jakes mood sobered at that.

"You think it was a set up?" Jake had lived in Fort Benton all his life and knew Beatrice was more than capable of doing such a thing.

"I know it was. Beatrice's face said it all and she was practically leading her dad to the fight, but only once I had gotten involved." Megan ran a hand over her abused ribs.

"I'd like to get back at them for it, but once we're done our project here I'll be leaving. So there's not much point." She sighed and gestured at the car.

"Anyway, we should get to work. This paint won't sand itself and the weeds won't pull themselves out of the ground. Let me know if you want to take a break or switch jobs or something."

Megan left to get the gardening tools from the shed. Jake checked the canvas and got started with his own job. Mirage kept a few scanners on Megan as she went on her way to the garden with a wheelbarrow and a few tools. The sanding tickled a little but he kept properly still so the young man could concentrate on the task at hand. To distract himself Mirage used his scanners to observe some of the nearby wildlife.

It amazed Mirage just how full this little planet was. Organic life was just so fragile, to have so much of it in one place was nothing short of a miracle in his optics. Mirage wasn't overly fond of organic life but it was still a miracle. He entertained himself for a while by imagining Hound's reaction to the organic life found on this planet. Hound had been fascinated by what little organic matter they had come across in the further reaches of space. Prowl had once had to drag the mech by the helm away from some half dead lichen they found on one of the moons of a far off sun.

Mirage was alerted by his systems of a change, he consulted his scanners and noticed that Megan's heart and breathing rate had increased by a large amount. She was kneeling in the garden pulling weeds and cursing under her breath, but the relatively easy activity didn't match the dramatic increase in her systems. Her systems were working far to hard, and Mirage couldn't find the cause for such a change. His scanners didn't have the programming to internally scan like a medic's. Tehy could only detect superficial damage like her bruises.

Then Megan started coughing. It wasn't the delicate clearing of her throat either, it was violent hacking coughs that shook her whole body and had her folding in on herself trying to catch her breath. Megan recognized the feeling in her constricting chest and tried to sit up, calm down and breath, but the coughing wouldn't cease. Jake was so focused on sandblasting, the distance from the garden and the noise of the nozzle was drowning out the sound of his cousins coughing. Mirage took a risk and gunned his engine.

Jake jerked away from the car at the sudden sound and turned off the sandblaster. It was then that he noticed his cousin practically curled into a ball on the ground, coughing hard enough to bring up a lung in between rattling breaths. In moments he ran over and helped her to her feet, guiding her to a seat. Being upright helped immensely, and blinking back tears, she was able to take some deeper shuddering breaths and her coughing lessened. She kept a hand pressed to her chest, feeling the air flowing in and out of her stressed airways.

"Are you ok?" Jake asked, keeping a steadying hand on her shoulder.

"Fine. Just give me a second to grow another lung." She rasped, her throat felt like sandpaper.

"I see you sense of humour is fine," Jake chuckled. "Let me go get you some water."

He jogged over to his truck and fetched a bottle of water he had rolling around under on of the seats. It was disgustingly warm but it soothed her aching throat. She took another cautious deep breath, letting it fill her lungs and exhaling slowly. The coughing seemed to have died down.

"So what was that all about?" Jake said nonchalantly, but the furrows between his eyebrows betrayed his anxiety.

"An asthma attack. I haven't had one since I was twelve. I'll be fine though, I'll just have to start carrying my inhaler again. Should be rolling around in a drawer somewhere at home." Jake didn't look convinced.

"Maybe we should go home and get it then, or go to the hospital so they can check you over."

"Jake, your over reacting. Nothings broken, I'm still breathing, and I'm fine." She stood up as if to prove this point to him.

"And if you tell aunt Lisa or uncle Dan about this I'll string you up by your toes from the rafters in the barn." She started walking back to the garden.

"Megan, you shouldn't push yourself…" He reached to put a hand on her shoulder. She snapped away from his touch and glared at him.

"Don't. Just… don't Jake." She spat almost venomously at him.

They stood still for a few moments. Jake with his hand half out stretched and a sad look in his eye, and Megan standing stiff as a board with fists clenched at her sides. There was a tense moment, before Megan dropped her gaze guiltily to the ground and relaxed her hands, Jake did likewise, his arm dropping back down.

"Sorry." Megan whispered, still looking guilty from having snapped at her cousin when he was only trying to look after her.

"It's alright." Jake said with a smile, but his eyes still looked sad.

Megan looked at him and seemed to wordlessly say something that made Jake give a genuine smile. Mirage watched with great interest. He knew that humans didn't have a com system but apparently with familiarity humans could communicate without any words being necessary. He filed the information away for future reference. Jake gave his cousin a one-armed hug and the tense atmosphere dissolved.

"You sure your ok?" He asked as he drew away.

"Ya. I'll take it easy, and I probably shouldn't do any of the sanding. The dust will just cause another attack."

"Good idea. If you have another one I won't be hesitating to take you to the hospital ok?"

"Fine, fine." She said dismissively as she walked back to where she had been working at digging up weeds.

Mirage monitored her vitals. Her breathing was back to normal, with a small, almost imperceptible wheeze when she exhaled. Her heartbeat was still fast but was quickly slowing to a normal rhythm. Mirage vented a sigh and focused a few more scanners on Megan as Jake started the sandblaster again. Jake had fortunately forgotten how the car had mysteriously started on its own in light of Megan's attack.

The sanding took the rest of the day with no further surprises, Jake taking only the occasional break. It would seem Jake had caught on to Megan's urgency to have the project finished. They finished at sundown, Megan having long finished the garden and setting up for painting the next day. She made Al his promised meal and after declining the older man's offer of staying for supper went to help her cousin clean up. Jake loaded the industrial sandblaster into the back of the truck as Megan carefully moved the car back to the barn for the night.

Mirage settled back on his tires as Megan got out and stretched. She gave him the customary pat and promise to be back tomorrow. The pair of cousins stopped by the shop and dropped off the sandblaster, Jake grabbed the paint sprayer and air compressor so they wouldn't have to stop by the shop while it was open.

"Your sure uncle Dan won't notice?" Megan said from the passenger seat.

"Yup. We've been trying to sell the darn thing but it just sits in storage in the back collecting dust. If it helps just think of us as taking it for a test run. You know, to make sure it still works. Besides, Dad never goes into the back room if he can help it. Too many spiders."

They had supper as a family, Jake taking over cleaning up and Megan going to bed early. The attack had taken more out of her then she was willing to admit to her cousin. She found her inhaler before going to bed and put it on her bedside table, with a mental note to herself to grab it in the morning. She got a few hours of peaceful sleep, but at about two in the morning she sat up, biting back a scream from her nightmare. Her hands shook like leaves as she checked the time and groaned. She was never going to get back to sleep.

The itching need to get out of Fort Benton was stronger since her asthma attack. It was an itch that just couldn't be scratched laying in bed doing nothing. Megan tossed away her bed sheets and got dressed. She quietly made her way down stairs, making next to no noise. She grabbed the truck keys and left a note on the kitchen counter that she had gone for a drive, and that she had her phone if they needed to reach her. Hopefully Jake would figure out that 'drive' was code for going to Al's.

She left the house through the front door and silently making her way across the yard. Megan sent a small thanks to whatever deity was watching that Jake had to park down the street from the house because uncle Dan had felt the need to start painting the garage. The sound of the truck engine sounded like a gun shot in her ears but there was no sign of motion from the house so she figured she was alright. Within a couple of minutes she was pulling into Al's driveway, she took the less used field entrance so there was a better chance that she wouldn't wake him up.

She pulled up to the barn and dragged the painting equipment from the truck bed. Mirage had been on high alert when he sensed a truck pulling up to the barn, but relaxed when he recognized Megan's energy signature. He was curious and a little concerned as to why the little femme wasn't in recharge. The internet told him that humans needed a minimum of about eight hours of sleep to function properly, and that not getting enough can result in illness.

Mirage vented in frustration, there wasn't much he could do, he couldn't exactly transform and make her go to sleep. So he just watched as she set up to paint him. Her short brown hair was standing on end in an almost comical way, but the dark circles under her eyes was cause for concern for him. She worked with a single-minded determination, a grim look on her face, her hands never stilled.

She didn't bother moving him from the barn, a stiff warm summer wind kept the large space well ventilated. It took a hours, after all the process required many layers and cleaning in between stages. Mirage thought in the time it took for the primer to dry she would wear a hole into the ground with her pacing. The sun had graced the sky with a magnificent display of color as Megan applied the last coat of color.

The painting was the one step that she couldn't, and wouldn't rush. Her hands were steady as they evenly applied the last strip of paint to the hood. She stood back for a moment to admire the gleaming paint. The color was perfect. Just the right shade between bright red and deep purple depending on which way the light hit the paint. All that was left was to buff and polish the chassis and clean and reattach the chrome pieces.

Megan felt the sleepless night hit her like a wave as she peeled tape and canvas off her car, dumping the garbage into a corner to be picked up later. She had pushed herself all night to keep away thoughts of the nightmare, and the memories. Now she was too tired to do jack but sit on the stool and admire her car. She smiled slightly as she imagined the car shifting to sit taller on his tires, preening with the attention. There was only one problem.

"You still need a name." Megan sighed.

She wearily grabbed the paper and pencil from under the paint cans which she had placed on the workbench. Her still healing body demanded something better to sit on then a half standing wooden stool, so she unlocked Mirages door and sat in the driver's seat letting herself sink into the warm leather. She scanned the now paint stained paper for inspiration, musing over some of the crossed out options. Wingo just didn't seem like a good name though.

Then she noticed a name that wasn't crossed out under a smear of still wet paint, which she brushed away with her thumb. She was only just able to make out a word written in fancy cursive letters. She wondered who wrote it, maybe Jake or perhaps even Al had written it as a suggestion?

"Mirage. Not a bad name." She muttered as her eyes slid closed. Already half asleep, she didn't notice how the car jolted just a little at her words or the door closing by itself.

She also didn't notice a few minutes later when her cousin came biking into the barn. Jake shook his head at his sleeping cousin but didn't wake her. Instead he finished the job and reattached the chrome pieces and did the last buffering and polishing of the new paint. Megan sleeping peacefully through the whole process.

* * *

Servo met faceplates in a shower of sparks, clanging metal and a vicious snarl. The angered decepticon deflected his weaker opponents punches and pummeled him into the dust that made up the ground. He snarled and roared in anger as he beat the smaller mech into stasis, only just stopping short of sending the fool to the Well of All-Sparks. After all, Megatron wouldn't be happy with him if he killed the cannon fodder. Nothing was said from the watching mechs as he walked away from the finished fight, they knew better.

_'How DARE they mock me! It is one thing to know and be punished for your mistakes, but to be mocked to my faceplates and behind my back?!'_

He roared again and fired several cannon shots into a nearby boulder that was bigger then he was tall, turning it to dust in seconds.

:Sideways really got your bolts in a twist:

He turned around to point his cannon at Rumble, who had approached him from behind to keep out of his line of fire. A half contained growl found its way from his vocal processor. Rumble raised his empty servos, trying to calm his enraged comrade. One arm only made it halfway up, to damaged to make the complete motion.

:Hey now, don't offline the messenger. Megatron wants us to do a raid. My guess is he still fragged we let those auto bots get past us:

He snarled at the reminder of his failure and turned to fire another round at the rubble of rock. Megatron had punished what was left of the patrol for letting three of the four autobots escape and make their way to earth. He now sported a large scar on the right half of his face, Megatron had all but ripped the faceplates off with his claws. He was lucky to still have the use of his optic. Both he and Rumble were denied repairs of course, the explanation being if they could walk they were fine. It was just another part of their punishment though.

Sideways had made a scathing comment to another mech about his scar in his audio range, and paid the price for it. The only consolation was that the had gotten off a lucky shot which had offlined that fragging invisible spy, Mirage. If only he could have found the chassis to play with for a little, the parts found after would only be good for slag. He transformed his cannon back into an arm, and hoped there would be an autobot for him to slag when they touched down on earth.

* * *

Megan woke with a jolt when Jake knocked on the window of the car. She looked at him with bleary eyes before groaning and turning onto her other side to go back to sleep. She heard Jake snicker at her through the glass. It was odd, she usually could never sleep in cars because the seats were uncomfortable, but the leather seats in this car seemed to mold themselves around her. She chalked it up to the fact it was an older car, the stuffing in the seats likely had more give to them. Another knock on the glass, she gave up, sat up, unlocked the door and got out with a sleepy glare at her cousin.

Mirage was a little irritated at Jake. He had seen the boy coming to wake his cousin and purposely locked the doors. Didn't he realize she had just spent the night working like crazy to finish his paint? The least Mirage could do was make sure she got her proper recharge, but the boy had insisted on waking the girl.

"Morning sleepy head, or should I say good afternoon? It's almost five now. Were you here the entire night finishing the job?" Jake asked.

"N-no. Just part of it." She yawned, and closed his door gently.

_'Liar.'_ Mirage thought.

"Well, you slept through the final buffing and polishing and attaching the chrome pieces. What do you think of the final product?"

Megan stood back and admired the gleaming paintjob.

"He looks like he just got off the assembly line. I noticed the light in the barn was on when I got up late last night. I have to say it's a good job, but you shouldn't push yourself so hard Megan." Al said as he came walking into the barn, a nervous Rain close to his heels.

"Don't you start to Al." Megan said with a scowl and a playful swipe at the brim of Al's hat, causing the old man to chuckle and push it back out of his eyes.

"So Megan, does this mean your leaving soon?" Al's question had Jake and Megan giving each other questioning looks. Neither had told Al of Megan's plans for a road trip. Al just laughed.

"Come on now youngling's. You can't fool an old man like me. I can still remember what it was like, the itching in my legs to go and see the world while I was young." A wistful look swam in his green eyes for a few moments before focusing on the pair of teenagers in front of him again.

"So, I can imagine that you haven't asked your aunt and uncle yet, considering your hiding the car in my barn and all."

Megan nodded and Jake bobbed his head bashfully.

"No, we haven't told them. We were going to tell them when we finished. Megan's an adult now but Mom and Dad are still protective of her. At least with the car done they'll have a harder time saying no, hopefully." Al nodded in understanding.

"Well it's almost supper time, and you two have a lot of convincing to do. The paint job still has to cure overnight but I think as long as you don't get behind any gravel trucks you should be able to drive it home."

Megan couldn't wait to drive her new car, but was less than eager to see her aunts reaction. She tried to stall by suggesting she should make Al one last thank you meal, but he refused. Megan drove carefully and slowly to town, Jake going ahead to drop off the paining supplies back at the shop. Mirage revved his engine impatiently at the pace she was setting.

He had already injected nanites into the paint so there was no threat from rocks. The days it took to repaint him had given him enough time to fully recharge his energon reserves and he longed to stretch and race in his new alt-form. It also made him impatient to make contact with Prime. With his com systems inoperable he had to hope that Megan's road trip would at least bring him closer to the source of the signal. The decepticons had mentioned that the attack would begin in three to four orns, just under two human months at best. There was not much time.

Megan was stopped at a red light when an ugly, brown monstrosity of a truck came to a loud stop beside them. The window rolled down and horrible offending noise that could hardly be called music poured out. Mirage was tempted to mute his audio receptors but the voice of the male in the truck caught his attention first.

"Hey freak! Shouldn't you be in jail?"

Megan didn't even turn her head to acknowledge Peter. She focused her eyes on the red light, willing it to turn green, and trying to bite back the insults that she wanted to fling at him.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Where did you get that rolling scrap-heap?"

Mirages engine had taken on a distinctly loud snarling quality but neither human noticed. Megan gripped the wheel before turning to Peter and saying with a sardonic smile.

"My car is not a scrap-heap, and at least I'm not driving a giant piece of crap on wheels." She said with a very pointed look at the dun coloring of Peter's truck.

Mirage chuckled, his engine rumbling. Who knew the girl could be witty as well? Mirage felt like he should recognise the name Peter. He consulted his CPU and remembered that Peter had been one of the names mentioned by Megan yesterday as one of the people who had arranged for her injuries. He was liking Peter less and less as time went on. The light changed and Peter gave Megan one last snarl.

"Better watch out freak. Wouldn't want to find yourself in another accident would you?"

Before Megan could shoot back another scathing remark Peter spun his wheels and cut sharply in front of them, being sure to spray Mirage with gravel. Mirage wanted to race after the insolent mech but to do so would alarm Megan, so he only revved his engine to cool his circuits. Megan on the other hand was quite irate. She made no move to go after Peter but was cussing up a storm in his interior in a very colourful fashion.

She drove the rest of the way home promising to disembowel Peter if she found so much as a scratch on the paint job she had worked so hard on. Mirage couldn't help but to internally roll his optics at her words. She was almost as bad as Sunstreaker, and it wasn't even her paint. She should be more concerned about Peter's not so subtle threat. She slowed and came to a stop outside of a well-kept, two-story, yellow siding and red brick house. Jake had already arrived if the truck in the driveway was any indication.

Megan got out and inspected Mirage for any damage, but she didn't find any. The nanites had done their job, it would take much more than a few little rocks to do any damage now. Megan sighed in relief and gave the car an affectionate pat on the hood, then looked nervously at the house. It was time to face the music. Megan supposed if worst came to worst she could pull the 'I'm an adult now' card but she really didn't want to resort to any low blows.

"Well Mirage, wish me luck. If this goes right you and I will be moving out tomorrow morning."

She made her way across the lawn and to the door, pausing long enough to take a deep breath before opening it. The first thing Megan noticed was the smell of potatoes and steak, the second was her aunt, who was right in her face with narrowed suspicious eyes.

"Megan Valerie Pully. Where have you been? I tried to call you a dozen times today, at least! Jake said you had some thing important to tell us but wouldn't say what. And who's car is that?"

Megan peeked a glance at her phone only to discover it was dead. She was notorious among her friends and family for never having her phone charged. She also mentally (and sarcastically) thanked Jake for throwing her under the bus, or in this case, into her aunts path. She heaved a mental sigh before answering her aunt.

"I've been at Al's, sorry about my phone, I'll tell you over supper and the car is mine. Is that gravy I smell?" She quickly sidestepped her aunt and raced to the kitchen hoping to use her uncle as a kind of buffer against her aunt.

She dished out her food and settled at the table with the rest of her family. Jake watched with a thoroughly amused expression as his Megan tried to stall by putting most of her plate in her mouth. Aunt Lisa how ever was not one to be stalled for very long.

"So Megan, care to explain the car sitting out front?" Megan looked at Jake with a pleading expression. It was his turn to stall by shovelling potatoes in his mouth.

"Ok. A few days ago Jake and I went to Al's looking for a car. We found one that still ran and was in decent shape so we fixed it up. It's under my name, insured, safe and everything." Megan didn't like how her aunts eyes were still narrowing at her.

"And why were you looking for a car?" It was amazing the amount of a silent verbal threat the small woman could put in one sentence. Megan bit back a sigh and answered honestly.

"I want to go on a road trip. By myself. There are things I want to do and see. I have way to much free time and it's not like I'm exactly needed here."

Silence met Megan's words. She knew what lines they were likely thinking along and she tried to not let it bother her. To Megan's great surprise it was her uncle who spoke next. His question surprised her even more.

"And your sure that what you want?"

She nodded, completely sure of her choice. He smiled, his brown eyes lighting up his lightly wrinkled face.

"Then you have my permission."

"Dan!" Aunt Lisa looked aghast at his choice.

"Lisa it's her life. If this is what she wants to do then I say we let her."

"But what if something happens? What if something goes wrong?" Aunt Lisa said worriedly.

Uncle Dan looked Megan in the eyes at these words.

"You'll be expected to keep your cell phone charged. We must be able to reach you at all times. Is that understood?"

"Yes, I promise." Megan could hardly keep from wiggling in he chair in excitement. She was already packing her bags in her mind, going over what she would bring with her. Aunt Lisa sighed in defeat, she knew she wasn't going to win this battle.

"I still don't like it." The woman muttered as she raised from the table and began cleaning the kitchen. Uncle Dan chuckled after her.

"Just think of it as practice for when Jake moves out next year."

Megan couldn't stop laughing at her aunts exclamation of sadness and how she came over and hugged her boy with her arms around his face. Jake miming being smothered all the while.

* * *

**Tada! What do you think? Remember to read and review, yes that means you ya bunch of freeloaders! Ok so my question for You guys is: Who is the mystery Decepticon who was so glad that Mirage was 'offlined'? Brownie points to the ones who can guess right before the next update!**


	5. Chapter 5: Departures

**Hello all you lovely mech's and femme's! I have an update, let me hear you say yay! Awesome feedback from the last chapter. I love you all! Some of you guessed as to who the mystery decepticon is and most of you did some good guessing! Not telling up here who it is though, mwahaha, you gotta read for it. Had a fan moment earlier in the week. Guess what I saw in the mall? A red Ferrari. Yup totally had a minute where I was imagining it was Mirage. Couldn't stop smiling, probably looked insane, and I didn't care. It's in the mall for a prize in a draw. Can't enter because I'm just a poor collage student (sigh) oh well. Ok enough of my rambling, Read and Review! (Please do that last one, the first is optional.)**

* * *

Mirage had come to the conclusion that the talk with Megan's superiors had gone well. His scanners had picked up on the girls excited flailing once she was in her private quarters. He had momentarily worried she was having another kind of attack, but calmed when he realized she was merely partaking in a strange earth custom. Something called a 'happy dance'. Humans were strange Mirage concluded.

Megan herself packed her things for the next day and, Mirage was glad to see, went to recharge early. A few hours later the rest of the family unit followed suit. Mirage activated his own cycle, finally finding a good recharge with the knowledge that tomorrow he would be closer to finding Prime. The house where Megan's family unit resided had been dark for several hours, Mirage recharging comfortably when his sensors alerted him to a change.

He considered discarding the ping and returning to recharge but erred toward caution and scanned the street. He had expected to see that it was only some nocturnal organic animal, so he was very much surprised when he sensed three human mechs. The humans were dodging from cover to cover a poor manner, slowly making their way down the street toward him. Their attempts to remain hidden were laughable but since everyone who lived on the street was asleep the three remained unseen. Except by Mirage that is.

The three humans were about Megan's age, one carried a long metal bat while the other held liquid pigments in aerosol containers. Mirage was at first confused, for what reason would they need those tools? Mirage listened as the three began to talk in whispers while coming slowly closer. One was very nervous and constantly scanning the street while the other two were relatively calm, their elevated heart rates suggested they were excited.

"We shouldn't be here you guys. We're going to get caught. When our parents find out…" One of the other boys interrupted his friend with a whispered yell.

"Will you shud up Gary? We're nod going 'o ged caughd, we're just going to 'each the freak a lesson. I sdill owe her cousin a broken nose dough." The mech spoke unable to pronounce his t's, and had a large wad of cotton and tape over his nose.

The third Mirage recognised as the obnoxious human from earlier in the day, it was Peter. Peter turned to the other two and motioned for them to shut up.

"You can get back at Jake for your nose later Mo. Right now we're here to mess up the freaks new car. She'll know it was us but without proof and Beatrice backing me up, there's no way for her to prove it." Mirages coolant started a slow boil as the human laughed at the thought.

"Gary, you start spray painting the hood, I'm thinking of a word that starts with a b that would look nice in neon yellow. Mo, which window do you want to smash first?"

Mirage was furious. He had figured out from their conversation and the tools they carried that they were planning on vandalizing him to get back at Megan for some perceived slight. Mirage knew he couldn't transform and blow his cover, no matter how much he wanted to. He could honk his horn and set off the alarm, scaring them away, but instead decided these offensive humans needed to be taught a lesson. Gary, the nervous one, shook one of the aerosol cans with a light rattle and leaned close over Mirages hood. Mirage twisted the nozzle of his windshield wiper around and sprayed the young man in the eyes.

Gary jumped back with a loud yelp and tripped on the curb, falling onto his back, hands over his face. Mirage chuckled as the young man blindly scrambled to get away, furiously rubbing at his eyes. The chemical wouldn't do any permanent damage as long as the boy washed out his optics soon. The other two hadn't seen what happened to their friend and yelled at him in whispers.

"What the hell are you doing Gary?" Peter grabbed his friend by his shirt and pulled him to his feet. Gary, once standing, pushed Peter away and took a few steps away from the car. The young man looked nervously at the car. As if expecting it to bite him.

"T-the car… I-I ain't sticking around man. It's not worth it. I'm done." He bolted down the street his two friends trying to yell and whisper at the same time after him.

"Feh. Wha' a pansy. Led 'im go. Badder up!" Mo raised the bat and swung with all his might at the back windshield.

Mirage was sworn to not harm sentient beings, but that didn't necessarily mean he was sworn to keep them from harming themselves. In Mo's defense he didn't know that the windshield could take much more then he would ever be able to muster with a bat. The impact hardly even tickled Mirage's sensors. The bat actually bounced off the glass, the momentum of the swing sending the loosely held tool right back in the direction it came from, and nailing Mo in the nose.

Mo dropped the bat with a clang and grabbed his nose, freshly broken for the second time in days. He tried to keep from howling in pain and cussed unintelligibly through the wet cotton and tape on his face. Mirage struggled to contain his laughter, his frame shuddered visibly, luckily the humans didn't notice. One was to busy cussing and the other trying to shut his friend up.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" Peter hissed.

"By nose! Ahh…!" Mo curled up, hands on his face and head to his knees, trying to handle the waves of pain.

"What wimps, both of you! I'll mess the freaks car up myself then!" Peter took his keys out of his pocket and approached Mirages side panel.

Mirage had had enough. The human was given plenty of warning and still wasn't backing down, and now wanted to damage the paint that Megan had so painstakingly applied. Mirage let a small static charge build up in his panel. Maybe a small shock would teach him a lesson. Unfortunately for Peter Mirage didn't know that humans don't handle electric charge very well. When Peter's keys connected with Mirages side the rough equivalent of a taser coursed into his hand and knocked him to the ground a few feet away.

_'Oops.'_ Mirage felt a little bad, but not much.

The human lay on the ground, badly stunned and highly disoriented, his normally neat hair standing on end. Mo hadn't seen what knocked Peter to the ground but wisely backed away from the car all the same. Eventually Mo got himself together and helped Peter to pick himself up. The pair stumbled down the street supporting each other, Peter mumbling something about 'pretty lights'.

Mirage saved the memory to his files before settling back on his tires and after one more quick scan of the street resumed his recharge cycle. There would be a long day of driving tomorrow after all.

* * *

Megan was ready to go by eight the following morning, she had gotten a lot of sleep and had no nightmares. She had a small light breakfast and moved her things into her car. She packed light, just a few changes of clothes, a water bottle, a map and a few other necessities. She hugged her uncle and said goodbye as he made his way out the door to open the shop for the day.

"You'll call us every now and then ok? I'd like to hear how your doing, and it'll keep your aunt from going insane." He said as he wrapped he in a tight hug, but still mindful of her bruises.

"Yes. I'm sure she'll have me swear in blood I'll call every five miles before I leave." Megan rolled her eyes, only because she knew it could happen.

"Just imagine how she'll react when it's time for Jake to leave." They chuckled at the mental images.

"Well I have to go open the shop, be safe, be sure to get enough to eat. I love you."

"Love you to uncle Dan." With one last hug he was gone.

Megan went into the kitchen and was nearly smothered by her aunt. She didn't have to sign in blood but she did have to swear on her life to call with an update every now and then. She was heading out of the door when she was hugged from behind by a half asleep Jake.

"Ha, thought you could get away without saying goodbye?" He yawned. Megan couldn't help but snort a laugh at his bed hair as she hugged him back.

"Bye Jake. Take care of you mom and dad ok?"

"Course I will. You take care of you, and that car."

"Will do."

Megan shouted another goodbye as she dived into the driver's seat, Jake and aunt Lisa stood at the door waving their goodbyes. Mirage calmly started his engine, determined not to let Megan's excitement get to him, even as Megan bounced in his seat and buckled in. With a final wave and an excited whoop from Megan they took off down the street.

Megan settled down as they drove down main street heading for the highway. She caught sight of Peter and some of his friends as she passed the high school. Mo was there, his nose looked even worse than when she last saw him. It had swelled to be about the size of a small squash and raccoon like bruises hung around his eyes. Peter looked like a total mess, his hair standing on edge and clothes looking like he had been laying on the ground. He also had a nervous twitch in his neck. Both were getting chewed out by Beatrice over something, but the most surprising thing was their reaction when they saw Megan drive by.

Mo stiffened and flinched, putting both hands over his nose and backing away slowly. Peter's eyes widened and he bolted for his truck, Beatrice yelling after him as he tore away in the opposite direction from Megan. Megan could only watch in confusion and try not to crash her car trying to look over her shoulder at the strange sight.

"I wonder what's got those two in such a state."

_'A bat and some electricity, that's what.'_ Mirage couldn't help but chuckle. He didn't feel bad for the pair of distasteful humans, they had brought their misery upon themselves after all.

Megan gave another whoop as they made it to the highway and outside the town limits.

"Road trip!"

Megan was not one to dilly dally when she had a specific place to go in mind. She had a destination and the determination to get there and not let anything distract her from said goal. She wanted to get as far as Burns, Oregon in the first day, which would take about thirteen hours of solid driving. Naturally she needed something to pass the time with so she turned on the radio to her favorite station. She occasionally flipped it back and forth between stations so she could avoid the ad's and bad songs.

Mirage had been aware of the human transmissions since his arrival on earth but outside of using them to understand some human culture largely ignored them. Jazz was the mech who enjoyed music, of any kind, even of an alien nature. Mirage was impartial, even the cybertronian symphony, which had once claimed to be able reduce some bots to tears had little if any effect on him. Now however he was curious why some songs had Megan humming along in a pleased fashion while others had her snort in disgust and switch the station.

He studied which songs Megan seemed to enjoy and cross referenced them finding a distinct pattern in the beat and overall composition. He decided to experiment a little. Using the data he had compiled he accessed the internet and found a list of songs that followed the same basic patterns. The reaction he got to the first song was almost instantaneous.

"I love this song!"

She proceeded to turn up the volume to at point where it rattled his frame and had other motorists looking at them as they passed. Mirage was confused but amused with the little femme, he still couldn't see the appeal of the noise but at least her preferences fell within what was considered music. The song came to an end and he changed to another, somewhat quieter song.

Megan loved music and always had. She had been singing since she was three, so her mom told her, and had voice lessons for almost seven years giving her an above average voice. She had even won singing competitions when she was younger. Singing was her natural gift. Since the accident she had all but ceased listening to music, and completely gave up singing, it brought back too many memories. So she was surprised when she felt the compulsion to sing along with the song, and realized just how much she missed singing. Her voice was shy at first, unsure, but gathered strength as she reminded herself that it was ok and that no one would hear her.

Mirage was as surprised as she was. He had noticed her speech patterns were different from the norm. Her voice pattern more musical and annunciation more careful. He had not known that they were subtle hints that she had such a pleasant-sounding vocal processor. The hours passed quickly in this way, Mirage doing his best to make Megan sing and Megan singing the miles away. Megan had even commented in a surprised way that the radio was finally starting to play decent music.

Megan knew that the days drive would take a long time even without regular breaks so she tried to save time by skipping lunch. Mirage heard her stomach roaring and wasn't going to let her do any such thing. As they approached a string of restaurants and fast food places Mirage purposely stuttered and killed his engine. Megan swore but remained calm as she turned on her blinkers and used Mirages remaining momentum to coast to a stop outside one of the diners.

"Great, just great. So much for running like a dream. I'm going to give Jake such a smack when I see him next."

She got out and kicked one of Mirages tires before going and opening the hood. Even if Mirage had been an ordinary car Megan wouldn't have been able to do much outside of an oil change. As it was she could only glare at the engine and try to ignore the smells of food coming out of the near by diner. Mirage internally rolled his optics at the stubborn girl.

_'Go refuel and then we can be on our way.'_ He mentally urged her.

Megan's stomach growled, she sighed in defeat, knowing she would be able to handle the situation with less dramatics on a full stomach.

"Ok. Food first, then I'll find a mechanic to look at you. Hopefully it's nothing serious and we can still make it to Burns."

Mirage couldn't help but give a small chuckle at his victory as she retreated into the diner.

* * *

Merill jerked out of the poker game with reflexes born from years of battle experience. He was the first of the soldiers at the screeching monitor glancing at coordinates and comparing them to specific maps of the area.

"Get me on the line with Major Lennox." He told the man next to him in a calm but firm voice. Seconds later he was handed the phone.

"Lennox, we may have a situation." No words were wasted on greetings.

"Talk to me Merill. The big guys are listening as well."

"We just got touchdown readings from a small town in Idaho. Estimated time of atmosphere entry was 8.5 minutes ago. Their signals disappeared shortly after. Has Optimus received confirmation that these are friendly?"

"No, I have received no messages from these new cybertronians." Optimuse's voice sounded grave.

"Then we're operating under the assumption that they are hostile until proven other wise." Lennox sounded just as grave as Optimus.

"Sir, my men have contacted Jetfire. He'll be ready on the tarmac in fifteen minutes. Estimations put any responding team dropping into the area in one hour at max speed."

"Good job Merill. We'll take it from here."

"Sir? There's one more thing. I've noticed a pattern that the decepticon forces seem to be following. Over the past three months they have been coming in and pulling back out of atmosphere before we can engage. I've looked closely at the maps and it would appear that they always show up in areas with energy sources. Nuclear plants, electric power stations and the like. This time they've landed close to a power grid that supplies most of the electricity to Idaho."

Silence met his speech on the other line, until a new voice spoke up. The voice was clipped and crisp in the mech's manner of speech and sounded nigh unflappable.

"You are correct in your observations. I have accessed the information of which you have spoken and support your findings. It would also seem that these 'raids' are happening with increasing frequency. From once a week to every few days within the last few months."

"What does that mean Prowl?" Lennox asked.

There was a moment of silence before the calm voice spoke again.

"The data is incomplete, so I can make no concrete assumptions, but it would appear the decepticons are siphoning energy off human resources. While the energy sources they are stealing are inefficient they can be used as a substitute or converted into energon. What they need the energon for… I do not know."

"Anything else to report Merill?" Lennox asked after another ominous silence.

"No sir."

"Alright then, lets move out. I want my troops there yesterday. Lennox out."

Merill hung up the phone and looked at the now silent again screens where the signals touched down. He wished fervently in that moment that he was twenty years younger, but knew all too well that wishing wouldn't do anything. All he could do was send his thoughts with the younger men who would be going to face the threat, and pray for any civilians near the decepticons.

* * *

Crankcase ran a servo over his damaged faceplates, still seething over Sideways comments on his scar. He needed to slag a bot, preferably an autobot but he wouldn't say no to any of his comrades. All he needed was an excuse. Rumble, who was all to aware of his slowly boiling ire was staying out of his way by tending to the power cells.

Several of the small cylinder shaped objects were arranged in a line, connected to the electric power grid by numerous wires. The power grid was struggling to fill the demands of both the power cells and the needs of the nearby towns but as long as the power cells were filled the decepticons could care less.

Crankcase snarled in frustration. He had specifically chosen a large power grid close to where the autobot base was suspected to be but, it looked like they would be able to escape back into space without a confrontation. He clenched his servos, his claws digging into his plating and aching to tear into an enemy.

The power cells crackled with the unstable electric energy, fully charged. As Rumble disconnected the wires and cables Crankcase easily hacked into the traffic cameras of the nearby town. He was all but praying to Primus for an autobot signal, or a picture of them coming to their location. Crankcase's vents hitched as he spotted a certain car, it certainly wasn't one that he was expecting but he wasn't about to complain.

In a spark beat he was in his alt-form, a black Chevrolet suburban, and racing through the woods to the roads. Rumble growled at him over their comm link.

:What do you think your doing? We have to get these power cells and our sorry chassis's out of atmosphere:

Crankcase didn't bother dignifying Rumbles question with an answer and instead sent a data burst of his find over the link. Rumble's faceplates twisted into a wickedly delighted smile. Both he and Crankcase would enjoy slagging this bot. He quickly sub-spaced the power cells and transformed into his own alt-form, a dark blue Honda civic, and raced after Crankcase eager to cause some destruction.

* * *

Megan had eaten a full lunch, all the while wondering if her new car was reliable enough for her trip or if she should just turn back now. She came out of the diner and decided to try the key on it again before calling her uncle and seeing if he could walk her through checking the engine.

"Please work. I really don't want to have to call my aunt." She all but begged the car as she inserted the key.

Mirage started his engine with a roar, startling Megan. She sighed in relief and patted the dash.

"There we go. Don't scare me like that, Mirage."

They continued on their way for another few hours eventually crossing the border into Idaho. They eventually came to a town that reminded Megan of Fort Benton, only it was several times bigger and had an actual mall. The roads were clogged with bogged down traffic, it looked like something was wrong with the towns signal lights. They were stuck at a set of lights for a few minutes as the left hand turning lane became backed up. Megan could hear a police siren in the distance.

"I wonder what's wrong with the power lines in this town. It's not like there's been a storm or anything lately."

Mirage wasn't listening. He had been waiting impatiently for the humans to get out of his way when he felt a ping on his scanners. He immediately but cautiously set his systems on high alert and sent out a few cautious scans. He checked his spark cloak, which was still operating at full capacity. Even if it was another cybertronian, they wouldn't know he was there even I they were right next to him. Maybe they were autobots.

The signals were plain on his scanners and racing in his direction, who ever they were they were not bothering to hide their presence. He stiffened on his wheels as recognised one of the signals.

'Damn decepticons.'

* * *

**Mwahaha! I could get to like leaving a cliffhanger. Ok so don't be upset with me this is a set up chapter for many more interesting things in the next chapter. One more question for you all. I would like to know how you all feel about having Jazz back in this series. He's one of my favourite bot's (other then Mirage) and I was wondering how you all would all feel about that. So read, review and tell me yay or nay on the Jazz issue.**


	6. Chapter 6: Car chases

**Wow, another post so soon. I know some of you guys must be loving how quickly I update but I'm afraid that will be changing as the break I have off school is coming to an end. Updates will take longer to be posted but they will be on their way. Reviews are the life blood of my stories and the more I get the more inspired I am to write for you guys so keep them coming. IMPORTANT NOTE: at the bottom so remember to Read and Review!**

**And as always remember that I do not own Transformers. That tiny screaming sound you hear will be a small piece of my soul shattering, but that's ok!**

:Comm link:

"Speech"

_'Thoughts'_

* * *

Mirage didn't know how the decepticons knew where he was, his spark cloak was still functioning at full capacity and he was unable to disengage it. Were his systems giving him false readings? It didn't much matter now, however they knew where he was, they were heading right in his direction. Mirage had no choice but to take control and get himself and Megan out of the densely populated areas or risk innocent human lives.

Megan was of course completely unaware of the quickly approaching danger, so when her car suddenly shot forward without her touching the gas pedal she was more than a little freaked out. Her immediate instinct was to jam on the brakes but like the steering wheel, which spun out of her hands, it was unresponsive to her touch.

The car shot into traffic, diving through a gap with many hand gestures and honking as it did so. Megan's heart leapt to her throat and lodged itself there, firmly. She reached for the seat-belt and the door at the same time, fully intending to fling herself from the out of control car before it hit a wall. However the door was locked and the seat-belt was stuck. She could see the delivery truck which her car was heading straight for. She closed her eyes, suddenly the car dodged to the right and ran a red light before continuing to weave through the traffic like a needle through cloth. All. On. Its. Own.

It took Megan few seconds to fully comprehend what exactly was happening. The car wasn't out of control, it was _driving itself._

"Please do not panic." An exotic italian voice poured from the radio. The accent was thick and tinged with what sounded like annoyance.

To Megan this seemed like a very good time to panic. Her mind was now functioning on adrenaline, shock and a fair slice of terror so her mind-to-mouth filter had been tossed out the window as she spoke.

"What the _heck_ was in that burger I had for lunch?" She managed to speak around the terrified lump in her throat.

"Likely nothing good for you. There is not enough time to explain, but if you want to live to see the next solar cycle you will have to trust me."

There was the catch. Megan hadn't trusted anyone outside of her family in years because of the accident. It was the reason she had no friends in Fort Benton, and now if she wanted to live she had no choice but to trust her talking car. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Ok. I'll trust you. What do you want me to do?"

"Hold on."

With that said the car increased it's speed, shooting through traffic like a large metal bullet, even drifting around corners without stopping. Megan clenched her teeth, clutched her seat-belt and closed her eyes. Her heart had managed to climb its way back into her throat, she couldn't have even squeaked in panic if she wanted to. They were almost sideswiped by a police cruiser as they sped through the town. Fortunately the cop must have been too surprised by the almost accident to give chase.

Megan almost jumped out of her skin when she felt her cell phone buzz in her pocket. She glanced at the screen before turning her cell phone off.

_'Only my aunt would be the one calling while I'm being kidnapped by a possessed car.'_

It was then that Megan noticed why they were racing around like something out of Knight Rider. They were being followed by two cars. One was a dark blue civic and the other was an ominous black suburban, the pair of vehicles were barreling down the road after them, and they were gaining.

"Umm… you might want to go faster." She was jolted back into her seat from a sudden burst of speed.

Mirage held nothing back, racing through the streets, pushing himself to the limits of his speed and abilities. He was in trouble and he knew it. He usually depended on his cloak and holo-emitter to disappear or trick his opponents in times like this. His invisibility was his greatest asset, it allowed him to both attack and run away using the element of surprise. He didn't have the firepower that some mechs did and his alt-mode was older and less advanced than the alt-modes of the following decepticons. With his comm systems still shorted out there was no way to call for backup. In short, if he didn't find a way to lose them both he and Megan were slagged.

The civic was slightly smaller and faster than the suburban, it raced up when Mirage was cut-off by a big rig and slammed into a back side panel. Mirage swerved sharply to keep going, managing to find traction and at the same time put the big rig between himself and the decepticons. Unfortunately Megan hadn't been ready for the sudden manoeuvre and her head connected with the driver's side window. She rubbed the spot hissing in pain, she'd have a small bump but wasn't anything she couldn't handle.

"Ok. This is too painful to be a dream, but I still think someone doped my cheese burger back at that diner. Who the heck are those guys anyway?"

"They are decepticons." Mirage accelerated again, dodging through a gap in the traffic but the decepticon pair weren't easily shaken.

"Thank you, that explains so much. I don't even know what you are!"

"I am an autonomous robotic organism from the planet Cybertron. I'm what you would call an Autobot."

"I'm sorry could you say that again in english?"

Mirage was about to answer her but what ever words he was going to say only came out as a snarl as he swerved to avoid another hit to his back panels.

"All you need to know right now is that if those two behind us catch us we are worse than dead."

Surprisingly Megan didn't feel worried about the cars that were trying to kill her, if anything she felt herself calm down and focus. She scanned the street as they raced by, looking for anything that might help to stop their pursuers.

"Quick! You gotta turn back!"

"Are you out of your processor femme? Do you _want_ to be killed?"

"If you don't do it now you'll miss it! Turn back NOW!" She screamed the last word and slammed a fist into the dash.

In a squeal of tires and burnt rubber Mirage made a flawless and completely illegal U-turn in the middle of an intersection, nearly taking out a minivan in the process. Megan was nearly choked by the seat belt, she could feel the bruises already forming. The reckless move actually managed to gain them some distance from their pursuers. The civic having shot right through the intersection and the suburban couldn't gain the traction for the sudden U-turn. It didn't last for long though. All to soon the civic was breathing down their necks again.

"Over there! Turn right!"

Mirage turned on a dime into a narrow ally, there was hardly enough room for Mirage to race along let alone dodge any attacks. The civic was hot on their heels, Megan could hear it's engine snarling that them. The suburban was a small distance behind its sides occasionally scraping the walls sending up small showers of sparks.

Mirage then spotted what Megan had seen. A white big rig with a trailer attachment was backing up into a loading dock. If they could squeeze through the quickly narrowing gap the trailer would block the ally and they might have a chance to escape. Mirage raced faster, pushing himself to the breaking point. The civic saw the trailer and tried to apply the brakes but was going too fast. Megan closed her eyes, convinced she was about to die.

_'Never thought I'd die because of a possessed car. Maybe it'll be mentioned in my eulogy.'_ She thought almost laughingly.

At the last possible second Mirage flew through the gap, the trailer nearly taking off his bumper but he emerged on the other side whole. Megan twisted around in her seat to see if the trailer would cut off their pursuers. The civic applied it's breaks in a cloud of smoke and burnt rubber it's tires sounding like screams as it tried to swerve to avoid the trailer, but the ally was far too narrow. With a loud crash the civic collided with the trailer and exploded, filling the ally with debris, fire and smoke.

Megan turned back around in her seat once they turned the corner, she didn't see anyone following them from the ally but hadn't seen the suburban in the crash. Mirage continued to race through the town, but not as recklessly and avoiding all traffic cams and police scanners. Megan could feel herself shaking, the adrenaline was starting to work its way out of her system leaving her feeling weak. They didn't speak as Mirage ensured that they weren't being followed.

Mirage couldn't find the decepticons signals on his scanners anymore. It didn't surprise him, now that one of them was wounded or hopefully offlined they would retreat and regroup until they could get the drop on him again. Mirage scanned around to find an abandoned area where he could transform and let Megan out of his interior. He had a lot of explaining to do. He wondered for a moment what Prime would do to him once he got to base for involving a human, and a young one at that.

Megan felt her heart fluttering like a bird in her chest, her breath was shaky and her hands couldn't keep still. She tried to calm down before she gave herself another asthma attack, taking deep breaths and trying not to think of how she was sitting in a talking car. She could feel the draining adrenaline leaving her as she calmed down, but even as she was trying to calm down, a small childish part of her was crowing that it was 'just too cool'.

_'I think there might be something wrong with me.'_ She thought cynically to herself.

A small alarm in her head went off as her car drove itself through a broken chain link fence and into an abandoned building. The building looked like it had been left to rust and had once been used to be a cross between a factory and a warehouse. Now it was just an empty building and a hideaway for the occasional homeless person. Megan began to really hope that she was with the nice car that didn't want to kill her. The shaking started again, she gripped her backpack of things trying to make the shaking stop.

Mirage stopped in the middle of the empty space and opened his door. Megan hesitated for a moment then slowly stepped out and backed away from the vehicle, not turning her back to it for a second. She was still clutching her things to her chest like a shield. For a moment neither spoke, simply gauging each other and trying to read what the other was thinking,

Mirage was getting more than Megan. After all in his car form he had no facial expressions, so she felt like she was trying to stare down the worlds greatest poker player. And she didn't even know how to play poker. Mirage was a little frustrated that he didn't have the programming to internally scan the girl to check for damage. All he could tell was that her hair was a mess, she had a small bump on her head and was scared and nervous.

_'At least she is not screaming. Yet.'_ He thought with a cycle of his vents that sounded very much like a human sigh.

"Are you alright?" Megan jumped to hear the italian voice come from the car again. The accent was less prominent now that he wasn't being chased by those decepti-things. She mentally made a note that the car had asked if she was alright. It wouldn't ask that if it planned on killing her, right?

_'Unless it needs you alive for some reason.'_ Said a little voice in her head. She forcibly gagged and shoved that voice into the back of her mind.

"Y-yes I'm fine." She managed to squeak.

"I am going to transform into my bi-pedal form now, please do not be alarmed." He warned her.

Before she could ask what the heck a bi-pedal form is, the car seemed to split down the middle and explode. Megan flinched back as she realized that it wasn't exploding, explosions move out, this was a kind of shifting change upwards. The next thing she knew she was staring up at what looked to be a red, blue-eyed robot. She gaped for a few seconds before her mind-to-mouth filter decided to take another vacation.

"Holy crap your tall." She clapped a hand over her mouth.

Mirage was so amused by the look on her face he actually chuckled out loud. That had not been the first thing he had expected her to say. Megan jumped at the sound of his laughter, comparing it to the sound of rolling thunder and just as brief. The sound actually helped to put her more at ease, as the laughter wasn't the crazy or cruel kind it actually sounded very human. The robot was definitely male with such a deep sounding voice. She felt some of her fear melt way only to be replaced by her boundless curiosity.

The robot was indeed very tall, and vaguely human-like in it's overall shape with a head and four limbs. He stood ramrod straight and perfectly balanced at about twenty feet tall. She had to crane her neck to get a better look at him. He had what looked like black spikes coming from his elbows that looked like they could double as swords.

She could see bits and pieces of the car that he could change into, spotting the odd headlight or fender on his person. What used to be the doors of her car were on his back like a pair of wings. What Megan hoped were his 'eyes' glowed a bright blue, standing out from his red and black coloring. He seemed to be regarding her as closely as she was him.

_'At least he has nice posture.'_ She observed.

"Umm… I know I'm repeating myself but… what are you?"

"My designation is Mirage. I am an Autobot spy from the planet Cybertron. I have come to earth in search of my companions who landed here some time ago and are now living in secret among humans."

There was a distinct pause while Megan processed what exactly the robot had just said.

"Wait. Your saying you're an alien? And that there are more of you?"

Megan could feel her entire world turn onto its head. Her car was a freaking alien. Not that her life wasn't already kind of messed up but to have met an actual alien and learn that there are more on earth was pretty mind-blowing. And really exciting. She wondered for a moment if Area 51 was legit or not.

_'I guess I can cross 'get kidnapped by aliens'_ off my bucket list.'

"Yes, I am what you would call an alien. My companions and I received a message from our leader who had come to earth seeking the Allspark. As we approached earth we were attacked by Decepticons. My comrades were able to escape while I distracted our opponents but I was damaged in the process."

Megan bit back her questions and listened as he told her of how he managed to hear the enemies plans and how he wound up in Al's junkyard. Despite believing in alien life Megan was having a hard time accepting that the alien life had brought their civil war to her planet. She was able to understand though that the Autobots were the good guys who protected life, while the Decepticons were the ones who wouldn't hesitate to squish her. The thought sent shivers up her spine. He also explained how with his damaged systems he had no way of contacting his allies and was pretty much invisible to their scanners.

"Wait, if your supposed to be invisible to their scanners how did the decepti-what-cha-ma-calls-it find you?"

"They are called Decepticons, and I don't know. I originally detected three Decepticon signals but only two gave chase. It's possible the third went to get reinforcements or to report my location." The robot, Mirage she corrected herself, seemed disturbed by the fact he had been so easily located. It all sounded like a really bad game of hide-and-seek to her.

"So the short and sweet version is that you need to get to your leader before the coming invasion in a few weeks time. Without causing mass panic or getting caught by the enemy which now seems to be tracking you. Did I cover everything?" Megan was starting to feel really tired, and being tired made her irritable.

"That is an accurate summary of the situation, yes. I was hoping not to involve you in our war but it would seem that I have no choice."

"Ya, instead you were just planning on using me to get closer to your leader then abandon me right?" Megan questioned the wisdom of glaring at a twenty-foot robot but was too mad at having been tricked to care. Mirage vented a sigh, there was no point in hiding a truth that she had accurately guessed.

"Yes, as long as it kept you safe that was the plan. Unfortunately the Decepticons forced me to reveal myself or risk them catching me."

Megan took a deep breath and reined in her frustrations. He had a point, as much as she hated it he had done it to keep her blissfully ignorant but safe. She tried to see it from his point of view. He was alone on a strange planet, with vital information he was being hunted for and no way to contact his comrades, not to mention the fact he was damaged and at a disadvantage.

"Alright, well we better get moving then before those Decepticons find us again." She stood up from the crate she had been sitting on and dusted herself off.

Mirage jerked in surprise. He had just told her he had planned on abandoning her and was now being hunted by others of his kind. Who would be all too glad to squish her underfoot, and she still wanted to go with him? Megan saw the shocked look on his face and put her hands on her hips.

"Oh come on now, you can't say that you don't need me. You said yourself that you need to get to this Prime guy as fast as possible. In order to do that you need to avoid attention. Driving across the country without a driver will get you more attention then you could ever want. In other words you need me to keep a low profile."

Mirage couldn't argue with her logic, she was right after all.

"Besides, I said that I trust you. Sure it was a kind of 'trust me or die' kind of moment, but I'm not the kind of person who says things like that lightly. So until either the day I die or you betray that conviction, I'll trust you Mirage."

She said it as if she was commenting on the weather, but the look she gave Mirage as she said it showed that she meant every word. Her hazel eyes burned into his glowing blue with an intensity that was hard for him to look at. It was also such a blunt statement that Mirage could think of nothing to say. So instead of saying anything the transformed back into his alt-mode and opened the doors to let her in.

She paused for a moment before getting in and growled under her breath. Her fists were clenched and a stormy expression made her look fierce.

"What's wrong?" Mirage was startled by her sudden display of anger.

"Nothing. Just that those Decepticons better hope they don't find us again 'cause if they do I might just have to rip them a new tail pipe." Her statement only served to confuse him more. He very much doubted that she would give even the smallest Decepticon trouble.

"Why?"

Megan crossed her arms and sat down in his seat. She was a little nervous about sitting in a sentient car but focused on her anger to keep from worrying about it. The seat belt snapped into place and Mirage made his way out into the street before she answered.

"The bastards scratched your paint."

In minutes the pair were on the highway and speeding away from the little town. The town had just dropped off of Mirage's scanner range when a unique convoy of very unique cars rolled into that little town.

* * *

Optimus, Prowl, Ironhide, and Ratchet made their way through the streets in their alt-forms, scanners on high alert for any Decepticon activity. The military had already secured the alleyway and the surrounding streets where Rumble had collided with the trailer. They had managed to evacuate the immediate area under the cover story of a gas leak. Considering that a small explosion had rocked the small community it was a fairly believable tale.

The convoy of Autobots came to a stop at the ally and observed the damage. Ratchet, having been assured that it was safe to do so, transformed into his bi-pedal form and navigated the narrow ally to better observe what remained of Rumble. He tapped into an open comm line to talk to the others.

:Ratchet reporting.:

:Go ahead Ratchet.:

:It would appear that he offlined in his alt-form, but it wasn't from any plasma weapon or energon blade. The fragging idiot must have had a number of fully charged power cores in subspace. To put that amount of energy into a space made of energy is incredibly unstable. The crash into the trailer was enough of a trigger to set the power cores off while still in subspace.:

:Serves the fragger right.: Ironhide groused, grumpy that he had been denied the chance to use his cannons.

Optimus ignored his weapons specialist and spoke to his SIC.

:What do you make of this Prowl?:

:Something has changed. This does not follow the pattern that they have been following of late. Despite our quick response time they had the filled power cores and plenty of time to retreat back into space. The monitors back at base show no launch activity in the atmosphere, suggesting that Rumble was either working independently or his partner is still on earth. I calculate a 92% chance for the latter. However I do not know what caused the change in behaviour.:

:Maybe the Decepticons are fighting amongst themselves again.: Ratchet suggested.

:Perhaps. Either way, the change could suggest that whatever the Decepticons are planning may be coming soon. I suggest we prepare, take precautions and keep alert for any Decepticon activity.:

:Agreed, until something changes that's all we can do.:

Within a few hours the remains of Rumble were on their way to the Mariana trench and the Autobots were on a plane back to base. The town resumed it's normal activities with the exception to a black suburban hiding deep in the nearby woods, close to the cell phone tower.

Crankcase waited patiently, watching the traffic cams and using long-range scanners until the human military fell back with the Autobots in tow. The cell tower effectively scrambled any scanners looking for his signature enough for him to remain hidden. He longed to be able to sink his claws into an Autobot, especially after letting not just one, but two easy pray escape him in one day. Not to mention it was a pray he thought he had managed to offline. His pride was sore but he wasn't foolish enough to believe that he was a match for Optimus Prime while surrounded by his officers.

However he was more then a match for one damaged Autobot spy, with a weak little organic pet. Once he was sure there were no Autobots in the near vicinity he transformed into his bi-pedal form and approached the cell tower. Using his advanced systems he easily used the cell tower to find the wireless communication device he had detected during the chase with the Autobot. Apparently it belonged to the pathetic organic that the spy was keeping with him.

Unfortunately the organic had the device powered off, and it wasn't advanced enough to be traced while deactivated. Crankcase copied the data and set his systems to alert him when the device was turned on. All he had to do now was wait, the spy none the wiser that his little organic pet will be his undoing.

_'You can't hide from me anymore Mirage, and you can't run for long. This time I'll make you turn around and face me as I shoot you in the spark.'_

So Crankcase settled down to wait, like a deadly black spider in the middle of a web waiting for his pray.

* * *

**Yay! Another chapter done. Tell me your thoughts and wants and complaints. IMPORTANT NOTE: Just making sure you all know that there is a smaller companion to this story called 'Underestimated'. It is worth checking out and is made to be a spot or me to dump my other ideas that might not fit in this one. It has both Megan and Mirage in it, so go find it on my profile page. One more question, does anyone read my profile page or is it just redundant? Not that I really care but I'm just curious. Anyway remember to Read and Review!**


	7. Chapter 7: Unspoken Pasts

**~And another one bites the dust~. Oh hey ther, got another chapter for you all. Remember to read and review.**

**I don't own transformers, or the song above, or anything really. 'Cept for Megan and my plot.**

:Comm link:

_'Thinking'_

"Talking"

* * *

After Megan had been reassured that Mirage's paint would be as good as new in a few hours, thanks to nanite technology, she actually found herself enjoying the company. Sure, she was still overcoming the effects of shock, and internally she was freaking out, but overall she thought she was handling it quite well. Megan was coming to accept that her life seemed to be forever flipping itself upside down, and that this point having things normal would be weird. Seeing a car driving itself was still strange though.

While she was still nervous that her car was in fact a sentient alien robot, she was starting to weigh the pros and cons of her situation. In the pros there were things like the fact she no longer had to 'drive', she now had someone to talk to, no longer would she have to pay for gas, and that for an alien he had a good taste in music.

In the cons was the Decepticons, Megan giggled internally at her unintentional joke. Her alien was being hunted by other aliens who would be all to glad to kill her, there were also more of these bad guys waiting to invade earth. Megan sighed heavily, there wasn't much she could do about that except help Mirage get to his leader without getting caught by the Decepticons. That, and try not to die.

Megan glanced out the windows at the quickly passing mountains and forests. They were still traveling along the roads toward Burns. Megan turned her attention back to Mirage, she was a little unsure where she should direct her question. Did she talk to the radio or the wheel? She decided it really didn't matter, she was sitting inside him after all.

_'That sounded less disturbing in my head.'_ Megan shook her head and tried to distract herself from that train of thought.

"So where are we going?"

"We will continue along the route you have planned. I fear that if we were to head directly to Optimus' signal we would lead the Decepticons straight to base. Also, the Decepticons now know my alt-form, the most rational thing to do is to find a new alternate form to throw them off the trail." Megan couldn't help but notice he sounded like he had done this all before. Mirage continued.

"I fortunately have enough energon reserves to make the change, but I need an alternate that is faster than my current form. This one is inefficient and if we are found by the Decepticons it is unlikely I will be able to outrun them."

"So where are you going to find a fast new car form?"

"I found on the internet that there is a 'car show' in Crescent city, which is several hours west of Burns. It will take us further away from Optimus' signal, but if by then the Decepticons are still following we can lose them in the crowded city streets."

"Speaking of Decepticons, do you know the ones who are following us?"

"I only recognized one of the three Decepticon signatures. His name is Crankcase. He is volatile and will stoop to just about anything to achieve his personal goals. The universe would be a better place if he had never been sparked." Mirage's accent became thick again, a sign that he was becoming agitated, if the growling engine wasn't any indication.

"Sounds like you really hate him."

"As you humans say. 'Hate is a strong word', but yes, I do hate him." Mirage's tone suggested she drop the subject.

Megan was naturally curious but thought it would be best to not piss off the giant alien robot. She had enough questions to sink a large ship. So instead she asked him all the questions that she hadn't asked before like; why he had an italian accent, what was space like, and what an Allspark was.

"The Allspark is the source of all cybertronian life. It was launched into space a millennium ago to keep it out of Decepticon servos. Both fractions have searched for it ever since, because without it we cannot even begin to hope for the revival for our planet. Cybertron was once a beautiful planet, and hopefully with the Allspark it will be again."

Megan was slowly starting to pick up on the alien lingo. She also noticed how his accent faded and his overall tone of voice lightened to something close to reverence at the mention of the Allspark.

"You must miss it, Cybertron I mean."

Mirage didn't reply. They continued on for several minutes in silence, Megan gathered from his silence that it was a touchy subject and that she should change the subject. She could understand the painful feeling of missing home, so she did.

"So are all cybertronians like you? Wickedly cool and twenty feet tall?" Megan was a little worried about meeting up with his comrades. Mirage by himself was quite intimidating, she was still wrapping her mind around it, but several other giant alien robots could be overwhelming.

"No, they are not like me."

Megan gave an internal sigh of relief.

"Most of them are taller."

Suddenly she wasn't so relieved.

For the next few hours Mirage told her about his comrades, Megan learned about Hound and his fascination with all things organic, Bluestreak the chatterbox, and Prowl the logical SIC. He also told her of the others he knew were confirmed to be on earth, about Optimus and the advanced team. Megan had tensed when Mirage described the CMO, Ratchet. When asked about it her reply was curt and uncomfortable.

"I just had a bad experience with doctors, that's all." Mirage could tell that wasn't all but changed the subject in any case.

It was likely the most the spy had spoken at once in vorns. Mirage answered all of her questions patiently, after all they would be traveling together until they found Optimus' signal, so it paid to be patient with the girls questions.

They made good time, but because of the time they lost in the chase and their need to skirt around towns with traffic cams they still wouldn't arrive in Burns until very late at night. After a quick supper of fast food (Mirage griped about how much humans need to refuel) Megan could feel the days exertions press in on her, she simply couldn't keep her eyes open much longer.

"If you so wish you may rest. I will wake you when we arrive at our destination."

The seat leaned back enough so she could drift off comfortably.

"What about you? Don't you need sleep too?" Megan fought of a yawn.

"Technically I do not sleep. I recharge, and I do not require as much as you humans seem to."

_'Well la dee da~. Look down on the human why don't you? Saying recharge makes you sound like a battery.'_ Megan thought as she rolled her eyes at the mechs condescending tone.

She didn't dare say her thoughts aloud, she had already figured out from hours of talking to Mirage that the bot had some negative views on humanity as a whole. She only hoped she could change that opinion and at the same time show the mech some humility. Otherwise it could be a long trip. Still, she wouldn't say no to the chance of resting her eyes or an hour or so.

Mirage vented a small sigh of relief as Megan's heartbeat slowed and she fell into what the humans called sleep. He had thought she would never stop asking questions. She had been particularly interested in learning cybertronian curse words, but Mirage had remained silent until she changed the subject. The girl had enough curiosity to put Wheeljack to shame and could talk enough to rival Bluestreak.

The rest of the drive was quiet with only the sound of Mirage's engine and Megan's soft breathing. It was close to midnight when Mirage found their destination, a small hotel on the edge of Burns that was within Megan's limited price range.

Megan woke immediately as Mirage pulled into the parking lot, and blearily got out and checked in. She patted Mirage's roof and wished him 'goodnight' as she went into her room. Mirage had to wonder of the worth of the plastic currency which Megan had exchanged for shelter. Human society was so strange and it was all still such a mystery to him. Megan had spent the day asking him about his culture but he had spent little even bothering to learn of hers beyond language. Mirage tried to pass off his questions as the simple, mild curiosity of a bored mind.

"After all, what is the point of learning about a world we will soon be leaving?"

When he and his comrades had first received Optimus' signal he had felt an immense hope swell in his spark. Surely it meant that the Allspark had been found and they would soon return and restore Cybertron. But there were smaller things that didn't add up, things that lingered in his logic processors and over time worried Mirage deep in his spark. Why had Optimus referred to earth as a new home? Surely they weren't going to be staying here now that the Allspark had been recovered.

Mirage was suddenly pulled from his thoughts as his sensors picked up something unusual coming from Megan's room. He activated his thermal scanners to better 'see' what was happening. Megan's vitals were highly elevated in a strong fear response, yet it appeared she was still in recharge. She was tossing back and forth on the human sized berth, fists clenched, twitching away from some unseen force.

In seconds Mirage had accessed the internet and came to the conclusion that Megan was experiencing what humans called a 'nightmare'. He was briefly fascinated by the specifics of human sleep, how their minds took experiences, sensations and facts and twisted them into fanciful images called dreams. It was so different from how his processor condensed and streamlined data in recharge. What concerned him was that it was advised to not wake the person having the nightmare.

As much as Mirage hated to admit it, she had helped him to escape the Decepticons. She had even agreed to continue helping him get to base despite the fact that he had planned to leave her as soon as the opportunity had presented itself. He was not accustomed to being in anybot's debt, and it frustrated him that he could do nothing to help her in return. Even if it was only to help to keep her from being afraid.

His spark clenched as she curled into a ball and cried out in fear, much like a sparkling would when threatened. Almost automatically he began to thrum his spark at a higher frequency, creating a strong soundless vibration that was imperceptible to the human ear. Megan must have sensed the comforting resonance, but didn't wake. Eventually her heart rate slowed and after several peaceful minutes her brain activity fell into deep REM.

Mirage checked his spark cloak, which was still operating at max capacity, and scanned for Decepticon activity before settling into a light recharge. With a simple subroutine he set his systems to wake him should Megan's heart rate accelerate again, but fortunately Megan remained sleeping for the rest of the night and well into morning.

* * *

When Megan woke she briefly wondered where she was, before yesterday came rushing back. Not only was she now a few hundred miles from home but also accompanying an alien across country. She wondered for a few moments if she had dreamed it all, it sounded like something out of a trashy tabloid magazine. She stretched lazily for a moment before getting up and peeking out the curtains. Bright sunlight glinted off the red paint of the car, a.k.a. the alien, parked in front of her room.

She jumped a little when Mirage flashed his headlights at her, a little impatiently. She wondered why for a moment, when she noticed the amount of sunlight that was streaming through the window. She glanced over at the clock and was shocked to realize it was almost ten. She hadn't slept in past six, seven at most, for almost a year it was rare enough that she didn't wake from the nightmares.

"Ah, jeez." The swearing in her head was much more colorful in nature.

Megan rubbed the last of the sleep room her eyes and dashed for the shower, within a half hour she was fully dressed and signed out of the motel. She made her way over to Mirage who opened his door before she could reach for it. It startled her for a moment but she didn't let it stop her from getting in. The door snapped closed and quickly peeled away from the parking lot. After a minute of tense silence Megan had the feeling that Mirage was irritated with her.

"Sorry about that Mirage. I know you wanted to get to Crescent city early."

Mirage vented a sigh. He knew it wasn't her fault, he hadn't expected the thrum of his spark would send her so deeply into recharge.

"It is alright. I trust you had a good recharge?"

"If you mean sleep then yes, I slept well. Best forty winks I've caught in years." Megan chuckled.

"Winks? What does the opening and closing of your organic optic shutters have to do with your recharge?"

Megan laughed outright while Mirage remained confused. After more boisterous laughter and a small explanation Megan quickly sobered. She stared out the window toward Burns, a blank expression on her face. Mirage could feel through the seat the sudden tension that entered Megan's frame.

"Megan is something wrong? Your heart rate has increased by 5% and your cortisol levels have spiked." Megan snapped out of her reverie and shot a confused look at the dash. Mirage held back another sigh.

"It means you are stressed. What caused this sudden reaction?"

Megan fiddled for a moment with the zipper on her bright green sweater with one hand, while chafing her palm on her jeans with the other.

"There's someone I need to see in Burns. I know we're already starting late because of me, but could we make a quick stop? It's the reason I originally planned the route in this direction."

Mirage thought about it for a moment before speaking.

"I suppose we can spare a few minutes for you meet this person, but we cannot linger."

"I'll be quick, I promise."

Megan rattled off the address of the residence she wished to visit and Mirage navigated through town still avoiding the traffic cams. Mirage couldn't help but notice how as they got closer to their destination Megan became more stressed. She showed no outward signs of her nervousness other than fidgeting, but Mirage's attempts at scanning her showed little beyond what he already knew. She was stressed.

After several minutes of driving they cam to a stop in front of a tidy, pale gray town house. The house was medium-sized, with a small two car garage and a neat front yard with a small stone path. Mirage parked across the street and scanned the house for signs of danger, but found nothing but the bio signatures of a pair of elderly humans. Megan took a number of deep breaths as she scanned the outside of the home, her stress levels decreased slightly but the tension in her body remained.

"Megan, there is nothing to fear here. The only thing of consequence I can sense within that house is two humans. Neither of which seem to be threatening, so why are you experiencing physical distress?"

Megan briefly glances at Mirage's dash before turning her full attention back to the house.

"The people in there are my grandparents on my mom's side of the family. I haven't spoken to them in quite some time, so they might be surprised to see me. Ah man, I knew I should have called ahead and let them know I was coming."

Megan ran a clammy hand through her hair. She was more than a little nervous how her grandparents would react to her showing up out of the blue, suddenly this didn't seem like such a good idea. Mirage had done a quick search on who these grandparents were, and the level of stress didn't seem to match up with the information.

"I do not understand. They are the creators of your femme creator, correct?"

"Creators?" Megan asked.

"Creators are the ones who made you. Like the ones you call uncle Dan and aunt Lisa."

"Oh, aunt Lisa isn't my mom and uncle Dan isn't my dad. Uncle Dan is my dad's brother and aunt Lisa is his wife." Megan chuckled at having to explain family dynamics to an alien robot.

"Then where are your creators?"

Megan's chuckles instantly dissolved and wound up muttering something that sounded like 'it's complicated'. After a tense moment of silence Mirage opened his door to let Megan exit his alt-form.

"Make it quick. We still have eight hours of driving to get to Crescent city."

"Ok."

Megan jumped out and with a slight hesitance crossed the street. Her anxiety increased as she approached the door, she glanced back at Mirage as she stopped at the door. He momentarily flashed his headlights in what she hoped was a reassuring way. Megan looked for a moment at the door that was so familiar from her childhood, and with two firm raps knocked on the wood.

There was a call from a light female voice for 'just a moment' and the sound of shuffling footsteps. The door swung open and a small five foot woman in a light blue dress, with a cloud of fizzy white hair stood in the doorway. The woman's blue eyes widened at the sight of Megan on the doorstep and her bright smile melted away into a wrinkled frown.

"What are you doing here?" The elderly woman asked in a carefully neutral voice, but her body language was stiff. Megan looked the woman over, noticing the newer wrinkles around her grandma's eyes, before clearing her throat to speak.

"I-I came to see you and grandpa. I've wanted to talk to you guys… for a while now. May I come in?"

The woman hesitated, clearly torn, but after a second stepped aside and opened the door fully before retreating into the house. Leaving Megan standing at the door. Megan glanced one more time over her shoulder at Mirage before entering and closing the door behind her. Mirage switched to thermal scans an turned up his audio receptors so he could keep an optic on the situation, it appeared Megan's nervousness had gotten to him.

Megan took a deep breath and walked slowly deeper into her grandparents home. Everything about looked the same as she remembered, a few more pictures of family on the walls, a new rug on the floor. She heard her grandpa speaking in the kitchen.

"Who was at the door dear?"

Megan's grandma didn't say a word until Megan stepped around the corner into the kitchen. The older gentleman was about six feet tall with a slightly balding head of silver hair, his expression was stunned when he saw Megan. He put a hand over his red plaid covered chest, Megan could feel her throat tighten at the sight of her grandpa. She cleared her throat.

"Hey Gramps." She tried to laugh but voice cracked, her sadness leaking through.

Megan's grandma snorted, the older woman stood across the room with a grim frown and her thin arms crossed over her chest.

"Don't you _dare_ come into our home and pretend like nothing's happened." Megan's grandpa seemed to snap out of his shock at the poison in his wife's voice.

"Cindy."

"Don't Cindy me, Carl. She knows she isn't welcome anymore, not after what she did."

Megan flinched at the accusation. It was this very reaction that she had feared would happen. Worse she could feel it starting to trigger a memory. Megan pressed a hand to her face and turned away from her grandma, trying to push away the thoughts, but that only seemed to incense the woman more.

"Cindy you and I both know that what happened wasn't her fault." Carl tried to reason with his wife in a pleading tone.

"But it wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for her! Our grandchildren, our _daughter_, would still be alive if she hadn't met _him_!"

Carl didn't seem to know what to say, but Megan did.

"You're right. It is my fault. I'm sorry."

Megan's grandmother froze, the words she had been about to scream dying in her throat. Megan shoved the memories away for the moment and focused her hazel eyes on her grandma's blue.

"What I did… what I put you through, is unforgivable, and is all my fault. I have no illusions about that, and it will always be the biggest regret of my entire life. But I just wanted you both to know, before it was too late… is that I'm sorry." Megan forced the sounds around the lump in her throat, more choking than speaking the words.

Megan's grandma made no motion of acknowledgement, she didn't even blink, and she didn't say a word. Instead the woman turned on her heel and walked away upstairs. Megan and her grandpa listened to her retreating footsteps until the sound of a closing door could be heard. To Megan the sound was as final and as loud as a gunshot, but to her credit, she didn't cry.

"Megan."

She turned her attention to her grandpa. He looked sadder, older now that his wife had withdrawn upstairs, as if she had taken several of his years with her. He was slouched so low it looked like he had a weight on his back that was keeping him from standing straight. He cleared his throat and spoke again not looking at Megan, but instead looked through her.

"I'd ask if you wanted to stay for lunch but… it would probably be best if you didn't stay long."

Megan could feel her heart quietly breaking in her chest. Despite how he had tried to keep Megan's grandma from pointing an accusing finger a her, she knew that this was his way of saying that he agreed with her.

"Ya, ok. I should get going anyway. I-I have a friend waiting for me."

She beat a hasty retreat to the door, her grandpa following behind at a distance. She opened the door, her eyes immediately finding Mirage waiting right were she had left him. She looked back over her shoulder at her grandpa one last time.

"Bye-bye Gramps."

"Bye-bye Magpie."

She gave a small smile at the pet name he had given her as a baby. When she was growing up it had been their tradition to say goodbye in this way. She couldn't believe he still remembered, or that he still cared enough to use it. The fact that it would likely be the last time he would likely ever do so did not escape her.

Still, she didn't look back as she went over and opened Mirage's door. Mirage acting like the normal car he wasn't, and allowing Megan to start driving. Still Megan refused to let herself look back even after the house was out of sight. She barely even noticed when Mirage took back control and she let her hands drop back into her lap. They both remained silent as Mirage merged into traffic on the highway to Crescent city.

"Megan are you damaged?" Mirage's concerned voice broke Megan from her thoughts.

"Damaged? They didn't hurt me."

"Then why are you leaking?"

Megan hadn't even noticed that the tears she had been bravely repressing back at the house were now spilling over. She gave a watery chuckle and brushed them away, pushing her feelings back into the drawer in the back of her mind where she put all the other unpleasant things.

"I'm fine, really Mirage. They're just tears, it's a human thing I guess."

Megan expected him to be disgusted if he said anything at all, she was by no means a pretty crier. She could already feel her nose running as she fished in her bag for some tissues.

"Tears are a physical reaction to extreme emotion."

"Ya that's the internet textbook version I guess."

"Why did your grandparents react so violently to your presence? Shouldn't they welcome you? What was it that was your fault?"

Megan stiffened in surprise, her hands clenching into fists and her eyes flashing dangerously.

"You were listening?" Megan hissed.

Mirage's engine rumbled uneasily. He had never seen Megan angry and her reaction was taking him by surprise.

"I was merely worried about your safety. Your stress levels…"

"To hell with my stress levels! You had no right to listen in on our conversation like some sort of spy!" Megan interrupted.

Mirage's engine roared loudly, startling nearby motorists, as his own temper sparked to life. His accent came back, thickly coating his words making his words low and dangerous, but he did not raise the volume.

"I _am_ a spy, perhaps you have forgotten? I would not have to if you were more forth coming on your past."

"Excuse me? My past? What about you? Apparently you and one of the reeking Decepticons that's after us know each other."

"Do not bring Crankcase into this, human." Mirage snarled. Braver people then Megan would have backed down at his tone, but her reckless combination of anger and lack of self-preservation kept her from remaining silent.

"Or what? Last time I checked you're the one who needs my help bub. I don't need to be here, specially not with you."

"Oh really? Because the last time I checked it is your planet that is going to be attacked, and possibly destroyed, if I do not make it to Optimus in time, human."

Megan froze, she hadn't thought of it like that before. Mirage was risking his life to not only get back to his comrades, but also to help save her planet maybe even her entire species. A species she was sure he wasn't even very fond of, and she had likely just justified many of his opinions on humans with her outburst.

_'Ah fudge, now I feel like a douche.'_ Megan sighed and calmed her mind, passing a hand through her hair.

Mirage was also trying to cool his circuits. He had tried to calm the girl by getting her to talk about her problems, but instead had only succeeded in upsetting her further. Naturally she had lashed out at him when she found out he had breached social etiquette, and literally spied on her emotional conversation with her grandparents. He wanted to apologize, but he wasn't used to being the bot in the wrong, and his pride refused to bend enough to ask forgiveness from an organic.

"I'm sorry for getting angry Mirage. You're right, getting you to Optimus isn't only your problem, it's my planet. I'm sorry, and I swear I will do what ever it takes to get you there. I will not leave, or threaten to leave again."

Mirage took her words for what they were worth, and couldn't find a single one that said she was lying. He sighed. He supposed he could unbend his pride enough to be the second to apologize.

"I also apologize. It was inappropriate of me to listen to a private conversation outside of my missions. I can assure you that it will not happen again, on my word as an Autobot."

Megan didn't bother to hide the massive smile she gave at his words. She knew how hard it was for the stuck-up mech to admit that maybe, just maybe, he had been wrong for once in his life and should apologize. So with a large grin on her face she nodded.

"Apology accepted, oh, and Mirage?"

"Yes?"

Her smiling face suddenly morphed into a serious look.

"Never ask about my past again."

Mirage contemplated the girl for a moment before replying.

"As long as you will do the same for me."

Megan nodded, more then willing to sacrifice her curiosity about Mirage for the sake of her sanity. They drove for a few minutes in comfortable silence, before Megan's stomach decided to speak up, loudly.

"Oops. Umm… is it ok if we stop and get something to eat?"

"Of course." Mirage rumbled in his polite way.

As Mirage navigated towards the nearest highway eatery, Megan remembered the call from her aunt during the high-speed chase with the Decepticons yesterday. She considered that it would be a good idea to contact her worry wart of an aunt before a search warrant got put out, as she pulled out her cell phone and turned it on.

* * *

**Tada! What did you think? First part; nice and slightly fluffy, second part; holy wow what? It's ok Megan's past will eventually be explained. Umm… and I had a bit of a brain wave with how to end this series only… you might all hate me for it.**

**Megan: What? Let me see. (snatches plot outline and scans it.) WTFudge!?**

**Me: Ok calm down it's not as bad as it looks.**

**Megan: No, it's worse! I'm telling Mirage!**

**Me: NO! He'll kill me for what I have planned for you! You can't tell him.**

**Mirage: Cannot tell me ****_what_**** now? (looms menacingly and taps ped impatiently)**

**Me: Ah, slag. Read and review to save me please! (runs)**


	8. Chapter 8: Lost and found

**Yay! Another chapter done and posted. Goodness I loved all the reviews from you guys, I could cry T^T. Thank you all! I have been getting a number of comments on my grammar and I just want to say thank you for pointing out my mistakes, but there is no need to be mean about it. I've had spelling problems since I was young so go easy on me. You can still point them out to me but it's unnecessary to mock me, I already know I suck at grammar thank you very much. I blame my teachers, ya lets go with that. So just another reminder for all who haven't already go and check out the companion to this story called 'Underestimated' by yours truly, and to not forget to review at the bottom! Oh and I don't own Transformers, Adieu!**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

:Comm link:

* * *

Crankcase was in recharge, resting for the chase that would soon begin, when he received the long-range comm. The schematics showed it was a comm coming from out of earths atmosphere, meaning it could only be from one bot, Soundwave. He was the only Decepticon with the advanced programming to send a secure comm across a solar system and through a planet atmosphere without needing a signal booster.

:Decepticon Crankcase, report. You and Rumble were expected back at base exactly 8.786 breems ago, respond.:

To most bots the communications officer always sounded as emotionless as a drone, but as a hacker and leader of the Dreads he had worked closely with Soundwave for vorns. That gave him enough time to learn how to listen for the almost imperceptible cues in Soundwaves voice, and judging from the way Soundwave was speaking in slightly more clipped, short tones he was very angry.

:Decepticon Crankcase reporting. Rumble has been offlined in pursuit of a lone and wounded Autobot target. Power cores were lost with Rumbles offlining and the Autobot escaped. Currently tracing target and pursuing.: There was a short pause from Soundwave.

:Actions deemed unnecessary. Power cores were lost, and Rumble offlined. Mission; Failure. Launch from atmosphere and report back to base.:

:Did I mention that the wounded Autobot is Mirage?:

The pause from Soundwave was longer and more distinct this time. As the Decepticon communications officer Soundwave hated the Autobot spy almost more than Crankcase did, but for reasons of their conflicting professions. Crankcase hated Mirage for more personal reasons.

:Autobot spy Mirage has not beaconed for assistance?:

:Negative. It would seem his comm systems have been damaged along with his ability to become invisible. He has no way of calling reinforcements and his only ally seems to be one of the organic insects of this planet. I believe the Autobot spy may have obtained vital information of our plans and intends to warn Optimus Prime.:

Crankcase was lying of course, he had no idea if Mirage had actually obtained information on their planned assault on earth or not. But now he at least had a good excuse to hunt the piece of slag down.

:Very well. New orders; You are to track and destroy target Autobot Mirage at all costs. Dreads Crowbar and Hatchet will assist and provide back up. They will enter atmosphere and land as near as they can to your signal in estimated 9.56 breems. I will provide them a small window for them to enter atmosphere without alerting the Autobots to their presence. Mirage cannot be allowed to warn the Autobot forces of our plan. Do not fail.:

:I won't.: And with that the comm cut off.

Crankcase was very pleased with himself. With his subordinates inbound and the Autobot spy unaware just how outnumbered and outmatched he was, he would finally be rid of the nuisance. As if to make the moment all the sweeter his systems alerted him that the humans communication device had been reactivated. He hacked the device and immediately a location was revealed. Several minutes later a black suburban was barrelling down the highway at a speed that would bring him to Crescent City by nightfall.

_'Best enjoy your last few breems while you can Autoscum.'_

* * *

"Yes I love you too. Ok, bye."

Megan hung up her phone and polished off the last of her meal. She sat at the comfortable green picnic tables outside of a dirty little diner called 'The Ritz' at the side of the highway, Mirage was parked only a few feet away. Her talk with her aunt had not been entirely pleasant, but after she had apologized at length for having not called sooner her aunt calmed down. Most people would have read it as a sign of distrust that her aunt expected her to call after only a few hours of leaving the house, but Megan knew it was just the way her aunt was.

"Your aunt seems very protective of you." Mirage commented.

Megan glanced around, making sure there was nobody walking by who would notice the talking car, but there was no one around to hear.

"Ya she's always been like that. It was worse when I first moved in with them two years ago. She treated me like I was made of glass, walking on eggshells around me, always being careful of what she said. Eventually I got fed up with it and gave her an ultimatum, making her realize I wasn't going to break anytime soon. Still, she does worry a lot."

Megan finished off the last of her shake and threw her sandwich wrapper in the nearby trashcan. She glanced into what little cash she had in her wallet and thought back to her struggling bank account. She was very lucky that Mirage was an Autobot, and did not want to be gumming up his systems by trying to convert human gas into his own source of energy. Something called energon. Megan was glad for it, because otherwise her meager life savings would be suffering more than they were already.

"Ok so how long is it going to take to get to Crescent city?" She asked as Mirage opened his door for her.

"With minimal breaks, it should take about eight maybe nine hours. Depending on traffic we should be there just before sundown."

"Sounds good. I'll try to keep from slowing you down. Lucky for you I'm better at traveling long distances than most people."

They traveled in silence for a time, the only sound coming from Mirage's engine and the music coming out of the radio. He would never admit it, but he much preferred Megan's singing to the auto-tuned voices on the radio. After finding no music at that suited both his and Megan's tastes he accessed the internet and put on a song that yesterday had Megan singing loudly. The effect was immediate, her attention was pulled into the song and her heartbeat slowed, the music obviously made her happy but to Mirage's disappointment she didn't sing.

He tried again, putting on a song with more of a beat. Her feet tapped in time to the base and she seemed to unconsciously start to hum along, but still she wouldn't sing. He tried turning the volume up a little to encourage her to sing or at least hum louder, but instead it had the opposite effect and he could barely hear her. He turned the music back down to hear her better but as soon as he did so she stopped altogether. He vented an audible sigh and Megan felt her face flush with embarrassment.

"Sorry. My humming probably bothers you, I'll stop now."

Megan thought back to the previous day when she had belted along to the music, back when she thought Mirage was just a car. Yesterday was the first time in years she had dared to sing, and she had only done so because she didn't suspect that anyone, let alone an alien, was listening. Was it really only yesterday that she had met Mirage? It felt longer. Then again he was her car for a while before that too.

"Actually I was trying to encourage your vocalizations. While I do not understand music it is quite pleasant, and very different."

She was surprised that Mirage liked her singing, because she knew she was more than a little out of practice. But it was his words that sparked her curiosity again. She knew so little about Mirage and his culture, and it was fascinating to learn about.

"Didn't you have music back on Cybertron?"

"Yes of course, but our music was not as… varied or as important as it seems to be on your planet. We never thought to include words to our music like you humans do."

"What does it sound like?" She was incredibly curious as to what alien music sounded like.

"Let me play a clip I have. It is from a cybertronian orchestra I heard just before the war broke out."

There was a moment of silence before the clip started. Megan listened intently to the radio as a sound like static faded in. Other sounds emerged from the static that stayed in the back ground, high-pitched electronic tones that didn't sound like a melody that she could recognize. There were no lyrics or even a distinguishable beat that Megan could hear.

Overall it didn't even sound like music but random toneless beeps and electronic wails. Mirage cut the clip short when Megan winced from a particularly loud high pitch. Megan rubbed her ears trying to dispel the ringing the music had caused.

"Well that was… interesting." She didn't want to insult Mirage's culture, but she was trying to hold back her brutally honest nature from saying what she was really thinking.

"Many of my comrades enjoy music when they are not fighting. Bluestreak even became obsessed over some of the human music he managed to pick up while we were approaching earth. But whether it is human or cybertronian music I do not comprehend the purpose behind it."

Mirage was merely stating fact of course, it was one of many small differences he had noticed between himself and his comrades. Jazz had once tried to explain to him that music was an expression of the spark, but Mirage just couldn't understand. It didn't really bother him, but he felt like he was missing something that was obvious to everyone but him, and that irked his circuits.

"The purpose behind music?" Megan questioned. She had never really thought about it herself, music had always been in her life and despite the sometimes painful memories some songs gave her she loved it.

"Yes. There is no logic behind this fascination that your human culture seems to give to music. Every solar cycle you create and listen to it, but it serves no practical purpose. It does not feed your bodies, nor keep you warm or safe, so why is it so important?"

Mirage didn't really expect an answer, and Megan didn't really have one for him. She tried to look at it from his perspective and tried to imagine growing up not listening or even caring about music. It was surprisingly hard to do and it looked like quite a bleak picture to her.

"I don't really know how to answer you Mirage. All I know is that music is like life, there's no real reason for it, it just is."

For some reason, that answer soothed Mirage's circuits somewhat. He still didn't fully understand, and perhaps he never would, but it would for now have to stay a question asked on another day.

The weather was sunny and clear so they made great time along the highway. Megan hummed and sang quietly along to what music Mirage put on, occasionally asking him a question that she hadn't thought of yesterday.

"Do you think those Decepticons are still following us?" Megan shot an anxious glance through the rear-view mirror, but there wasn't a black suburban in sight.

Mirage hesitated to answer her.

"None of my scanners have picked up any Decepticon signatures, but they could be cloaking their presence."

"They can do that?"

"To an extent yes, but even with their spark signatures cloaked cybertronians give off a weak but unique electric pulse. On an organic planet like earth the pulse is fairly obvious to scanners without the proper tech to hide it. Most don't bother with the tech because it is too draining on our systems."

"Could that be how they tracked you?"

"No, as a special ops agent I have to be able to get in and out of enemy territory with sensitive information without being noticed. My systems are highly specialized to be able to handle the drain of being able to render myself 'invisible' to both scanner and optics. Unfortunatly my systems are damaged, so I cannot become invisible but fortunately my spark cloak is activated to full capacity, which also hides my electric pulse, they should not be able to follow us that way."

"That's good. Maybe it was just bad luck that they found us last time." Megan relaxed a little, hoping that the worst was behind them.

Mirage on the other hand was still wary. After eons of fighting the Decepticons he knew better than to underestimate them, especially since the last time he underestimated them he got shot in the back. The sun started it's decent as they entered city limits. You could tell that there was a car show in town by the slightly excited atmosphere, thought the excitement was greater for mostly the male population.

It looked like the town had taken over the football field and surrounding streets for the car show. The sun was beginning to set and the show starting to disperse, but many proud owners of the fancy and expensive vehicles were too busy preening in the attention their cars were getting to notice. Mirage drove by the inanimate vehicles at a slower speed, looking for one that would provide the speed he needed and still fit his mass.

Megan was also looking at the cars as they passed, pretending to be looking for a place to park. Some of the cars were very high-end, with custom paint jobs and souped-up engines. She even saw a few guys around her age shoot Mirage an admiring look or two. Megan couldn't help but snicker at the thought of what their faces would look like if they knew just what Mirage really was.

'Then again, teenage boys probably have wet dreams about hot cars turning into alien robots.'

They rolled along into the grassy field, Mirage clearing the holes without even a bump. There were white tents pitched up selling food and even a small band playing music, giving the brightly lit field the air of a festival. It seemed like the city was making an event out of the car show.

"Do you see anything?" She asked as they meandered between the aisles of cars and trucks.

"I see a few options…" Then Mirage saw it, the perfect alt-form.

It was under a tent and circled by a rope and surrounded by a crowd of people so dense Mirage couldn't get a distinct scan. He quickly ducked into a small parking space nearby, cutting off an aged gentleman from parking his classic burnt orange camaro. Megan waved in apology to the older man who waved a not-so-polite hand gesture. Megan looked to the dash.

"Mirage? What're you doing?"

"I found an appropriate alt-form but I'm having trouble getting a clear scan, this could take a minute."

"Ok. While you do that I'm going to go get something to eat."

Megan grabbed her wallet and phone from her bag before getting out and making her way to the white tents selling cheap sodas and snacks to the crowd. The air smelled like the nearby ocean and cooking food, sending her stomach rumbling hungrily. She stood at the back of the line, watching people pass by and giggling internally at how the men were drooling over all the shiny new paint jobs. They were particularly excited over a car under it's own tent, which was actually the grand prize for a traveling raffle. Megan felt her phone buzz in her pocket, the number on the screen was unlisted but she answered anyway.

"Hello?"

"Listen close fleshy, because I'm only going to say this once." The voice wasn't one Megan recognized. It was distinctly male and very deep, with an edge to it that sounded like the speaker was suppressing a lot of anger issues.

"Who is this? Are you sure you have the right number?"

"Do as I command and LISTEN!"

Megan flinched away from the speaker of her phone, her ear ringing from the strangers yell, but she could still hear what they were saying to her.

"You are being followed by this communication device. Abandon this tool and escape if you can, it may already be too late." The line went dead.

Megan stared at her phone, her heart suddenly in her throat and she felt her stomach drop. She had no idea who it was who had just called but she did know who would be following them.

"Ma'am? Were you going to order anything?"

Megan looked up at the girl taking the food orders, surprised to find herself at the front of the line. The girl was looking at her strangely and Megan wondered for a second what expression was on her face.

"Um… sorry, I… have to go." Megan felt less like eating and more like finding the nearest bush and vomiting.

She all but ran from the tent, trying not to panic or alarm anyone. She looked at her phone, horrified and disgusted at herself she threw it down as if it had burned her. Using the heel of her shoe she crushed it underfoot until the screen went black. Panting and ignoring the people who were staring at her strange behaviour, she raced over to where she had left Mirage.

When she arrived she found that Mirage had attracted a few admirers of his own and one very tall man was trying to open his hood. She elbowed her way through and slapped the mans hand away.

"Hey! What was that for?" He exclaimed, rubbing his hand.

"Don't touch what isn't yours then. Besides I have to go so if you'll please move out-of-the-way."

She opened Mirage's door and dived into the driver's seat. Mirage revved his engine and the crowd moved back away enough to allow them to drive away.

"Did you get the scans you needed?"

"Yes. We should find an isolated area for me to-"

"Good, because I think the Decepticons are here or at least not far away." Megan glanced around at the surrounding sea of vehicles, anxious of every gleam off black paint she saw.

Mirage's engine revved in surprise, the crowd looked at them and slowly parted for them. Mirage picked up speed but had to slow again for the people. His accent came back full force.

"What? There's nothing on my scanners, how would you-"

"Someone called me on my phone. They told me the Decepticons were near and that they've been following us though my phone signal. I'm so sorry Mirage, it didn't even occur to me that they could do that." Megan's stomach writhed with guilt.

Mirage cursed in what Megan assumed was cybertronian and honked loudly at the crowd of people separating them from the exit. The crowd parted and Mirage nearly ran over the few stragglers who stood in his way. Mirage quickly accelerated pressing Megan back in the seat. The seat-belt snaked over her and snapped into place on it's own. Megan would have jumped if the belt wasn't already pinning her in place.

"Who was it that called you?"

"I don't know, they didn't tell me their name. All they said was the Decepticons are close."

The half-lit streets raced by as Mirage increased the range of his scanners. At first there was nothing, not even a ghost of cybertronian energy save for Mirage's own. Then, three signatures appeared simultaneously at the edges of his scanners range and closing fast. The signatures split and flanked him, slowly closing the noose, they had him surrounded and running and they knew it.

"Who ever they are, they are right. The Decepticons are here, and there are three of them this time." Mirage's engine growled in frustration as he tried to pour out more speed.

"What are we going to do?" Megan asked in a whisper, trying and failing to keep her voice from shaking. Last time she hadn't fully known what it was that was chasing them, now that she did and she knew what they were capable of, she was afraid.

Mirage had very few options and knew that escaping like they had last time was unlikely at best. He couldn't outrun them all in his current alt-form, and he couldn't turn and fight them without putting Megan in danger. There was only one course of action that Mirage could simulate that would ensure Megan's safety and make escape a small possibility for himself.

Mirage abruptly jammed on his brakes coming to a complete stop at a brightly lit bus stop. Megan gasped for breath that the seat-belt had knocked from her lungs. Suddenly the seatbelt wasn't there at all and Megan was tossed from Mirage's seats, her bag of things following close behind. She sat on the pavement, stunned, as Mirage closed his doors to her before speaking.

"I am going to try to lure them away. Once I have lost them I will come back for you, so wait here. If I fail to return by sunrise… you should return home. This is not your war and I will not let it become yours to fight."

"No! Mirage, wait!" Megan reached out to him, futilely trying to stop him from leaving her behind, but only succeeding in stinging her hands against his door as he sped away.

She stared numbly after the glow of his tail lights, long after they disappeared. She wanted to run after him, useless as she knew it would be to try to do so. So instead she grabbed her bag from where it lay in the street and plunked herself down on the bench at the bus stop. The shock faded as thoughts and worries for Mirage crowded her head.

She was confused by his decision to leave her behind. Was she really that much of a burden? Was she really slowing him down that much that he felt like he had a better chance without her? Did he blame her for the Decepticons finding them again? A random thought wondered if this was how baby kangaroos felt, after their mothers would dump them out of their pouch so they could get away from predators faster. Then the question of what she would do if he didn't come back entered her head.

Going back home was out of the question, especially not with an alien Armageddon/dooms day coming to earth in a matter of weeks. No, she would keep going and try to find Optimus Prime on her own, even if it meant approaching every army base in Nevada without Mirage to back her up. Of course, if Mirage didn't come back that would mean one of two things. He either continued on without her, believing himself better off, or the Decepticons caught him and…

_'NO! Don't think like that Megan. Mirage will not die at the hands of those Decepticons. He can't!'_

Megan hugged her knees to her chest, feeling more lost and alone then she had in some time. She felt so incredibly helpless, all her thoughts circled around how if Mirage died it would be all her fault. It was her phone that led the Decepticons right to them, his would be yet another death she was responsible for.

She hung her head in shame as tears of helpless rage leaked from her eyes. Her nails biting deep into the palms of her hands. All she could do was wait and hope that Mirage came back, after all what could she, a weak and easily squishable human do against metal giants? She hardly even noticed when a car rolled to a stop in front of the bus stop.

"You shouldn't be out this late alone femme." A deep and unfamiliar voice called out to her.

Megan looked up with blurry eyes at the speaker. There wasn't much to see as he was parked just beyond the pool of light from the bus stop lights. The windows were slightly tinted and completely dark in the gloom of the night, so Megan couldn't see the man talking to her. The engine of his car growled in a way that Megan thought sounded almost menacing.

"Who are you? Wait, what did you call me?" Megan's heart leapt, from fear or excitement she was unsure. She recalled that Mirage had called her a femme, which was alien speak for female. That could only mean one of two things, this was either an Autobot or a Decepticon in front of her.

"I'm the one who called you on your primitive communication device and warned you to escape while you could. There's no time for further discussion. If you want to help save your friend you must come with me."

The door opened on it's own and showed Megan a glimpse of an empty car interior, confirming her suspicions as to the origins of the car. A small voice in her head warned that it could very well be a trap, the enemy bots were called Decepticons for a reason after all. But a bigger part of her stubbornly refused to remain on the sidelines as a helpless bystander anymore, no matter the cost.

She took a deep breath, grabbed her things and flung herself into the passenger seat. The door closed and locked behind her as the police cruiser with the words 'to punish and enslave' on it's side pulled away from the bus stop and sped away into the night.

* * *

**DUN DUN DUUUUUUN~! Ha, yet another evil cliff-hanger of doom! If any of you can recall the details of the first chase scene Mirage mentions a third signal that they didn't confront. If you can't remember I suggest you go back and read that chapter again. It was mentioned a few times but you may have missed it. Ok so I received a comment saying that some and such person would like me to use more detail. I'd like to tell them that this is just a first draft but I want to know what you all think. Am I being too skimpy on the details? Remember to read and review! Take the pledge to always review what you read! Even if it's only a happy or sad face, feedback is worth their letters in gold!**


	9. Chapter 9: Rescue

**Ok so this chapter has much bigger paragraphs than normal. I hope that's not too intimidating for some of you because let me tell you every word is worth it. As always, remember I do not own transformers but I do own Megan. Also remember this is my playtime in the transformers universe so if you don't like it you can get out. And remember to read review and go checkout 'Underestimated'. Seriously people, it's not a spoiler for 'Never say Goodbye', it's just a bunch of one shots that likely won't make it into this story so go read it and review it please! Ok enough ranting, let's go read.**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

:Comm link.:

* * *

Mirage's ethical programming was misfiring. His CPU continued to send him alerts and warnings about how vulnerable he had left Megan, alone on the side of the road. He reasoned to himself that it was necessary, that she would be safer there by herself than with him and the pursuing Decepticons. Still, that didn't stop his spark from giving a small ache when he thought of how wounded she had looked as he drove away. As if he had struck her.

Mirage mentally shook himself, forced thoughts of Megan from his CPU under other subroutines and focused on the task at hand. Though the thoughts refused to fade entirely. The Decepticons weren't taking any chances this time and were now hiding their signatures, Mirage couldn't sense them on his scanners. He avoided any streets with traffic cams, staying in residential areas while slowly making his way to the outskirts of the city. If it was going to become a fight he didn't want any human casualties.

Mirage's luck ran out when he spotted a black suburban the same time it spotted him.

Mirage pulled a sharp left and slammed down on the accelerator. Mirage let out a rare curse as he dodged and weaved his way through the city, a black suburban close behind and two others no doubt closing in. Mirage was by no means a cowardly bot, though he did prefer to negotiate than fight, but he also knew better than most mech's the value of a tactical retreat. Mirage was under no illusions about his situation, he was outnumbered, damaged, and there was no chance of calling for back-up, this was not a fight he was going to win and his best chance was to run.

As another black suburban joined the first one behind him Mirage activated his scans and transformed his alt-mode. A blue ripple of energy snaked across his chassis, shifting parts and changing armor. Mirage shot forward with new-found speed in his streamlined alt-form, leaving the Decepticons cursing in his wake. The change had left his energon reserves depleted at 68% but now he at least stood a chance of out running the Decepticons struggling to keep him in sight.

Mirage raced ahead of the Decepticons toward the nearby Redwood state park. It was only a straight, single lane dirt road with no turn offs, but by the time he reached the far end of the road the Decepticons would be far from Crescent city and he would be able to find a way to circle back.

Mirage was so focused on putting as much distance between himself and the pursuing Decepticons he wasn't scanning his surroundings. So when a third and final suburban came charging out of the last street before the relative safety of the forest, Mirage was taken by surprise. As he felt the paneling of his side crumple and his door wing twist with excruciating pain, he realized that they had known.

They had known that he wouldn't confront them, and would run for the state park to keep from harming humans. He hadn't been chased, he had been herded here so they could capture him and kill him slowly. His chassis was thrown from the road with the momentum of the crash and came to a rest in the ditch. Error messages from his CPU lit up in his vision, but Mirage overrode them and shut off as many pain receptors in his door wing as he could.

The road was deserted at that time of night as Mirage transformed and tried to ready himself to fight for his life. He staggered and his optics flickered dimly. His CPU warned him of his low energon readings that were sinking quickly now at 60%. He could hear the Decepticons transforming and laughing at his weakened state as he fought off stasis. He struggled against the cruel claws that dug into his armor and exposed wires.

Crankcase's two lackeys, Hatchet and Crowbar, had their servos on his shoulder plates and his arms, keeping him on his knees. Mirage glared with open hate as Crankcase slowly approached, a sick maniac gleam in his red optics. Mirage felt a well of anger as he tried once again to rise to his feet and swing his fist into Crankcase's faceplates, but the combination of his enemy's hands and his own weakening systems kept him where he was. Crankcase leered over Mirage.

"Where's your little human pet? I wanted to thank it for leading us right to you."

"Go frag yourself you-"

Mirage never got to finish his insult before Crankcase's fist collided violently with his helm, Mirage hadn't even seen it coming. By the time his systems had re-calibrated and he was not longer stunned he became aware that the Decepticon trio was dragging him further into the forest, away from prying human eyes. Mirage decided it would be best to try to save his strength and remaining energon for what was to come.

They stopped in a small dark clearing, where the trees were tall enough to tower over all of them and hide them from view. The only light came from the nearly full moon, stars and their own optics. Mirage was again put onto his knees as Crankcase turned to face him once again.

Crankcase was viciously ecstatic at having finally captured the bane of his existence and having the noble mech on his knees before him. The only cloud marring his dark happiness was the fact the human that had traveled with Mirage was now missing. The little organic was a danger to revealing their plans to the Autobots, and Soundwave would permanently offline him for letting such a threat live. There was also the possibility its torture could be used to get the location of the Autobot's base out of the spy.

Without saying a word Crankcase produced a thin black blade from his wrist and stabbed Mirage in the shoulder strut. Mirage gave a harsh cry in agony before offlining his vocal processor. He refused to give the sick and twisted mech's anymore satisfaction, even as Crankcase twisted the blade before extracting it, he remained silent.

"I will ask one more time, where is the pathetic organic piece of filth you were traveling with? Tell me and I promise to offline you quickly."

Mirage's spark heated in it's casing at the thought of Megan even being near Crankcase. Before he could snarl a response all three Decepticon's stiffened and their optics dimmed as they diverted energy in their systems. Mirage suspected they were communicating on their comm links and watched them warily, his systems were still threatening to send him into stasis from lack of energon but that was no excuse to let his guard down. The Decepticons optics brightened once more and Crowbar and Hatchet looked to Crankcase for orders, while still gripping Mirage tightly.

"This should be interesting." Crankcase chuckled at this new development, and waited patiently.

Several minutes went by before anything changed. Mirage heard the same time as the Decepticons what they had been waiting for, the sound of large footsteps crashing through the trees. The Decepticon entered the clearing behind Mirage, the two cruelly clawed servos on his shoulders preventing him from turning to observe the newest threat. Mirage consulted his scanner and recognised the signal for the one that he hadn't confronted in the first chase.

"Barricade, what a pleasant surprise to see you still online. Perhaps you would like to explain why Starscream declared you a deserter after what happened to the Allspark."

Mirage focused more on what was being said. What had happened to the Allspark? Mirage could feel his chances of escaping alive dwindle even further when he learned the designation of the Decepticon behind him. Barricade's name was infamous for being the best tracker for the Decepticons, once he was given a target there was no chance of escape.

"My communication systems were damaged along with my signature recognition relays, Crankcase. I cannot recognize Autobot from Decepticon signatures. If it seemed suspicious that I ran from you in that small organic town a solar cycle ago that would be why. By the time I realized you were indeed an ally you had already fled the immediate area."

There was a moment of silence as Crankcase observed the tracker before he spoke.

"Very well then, we will defer judgement on your actions until we get back to base and Starscream can decide your fate. In your comm you mentioned a gift."

"Yes, I believe you where looking for this?"

Barricade shifted behind Mirage and an unusual pained squeaking sound reached his audio receptors. Mirage's battle programs were suddenly on full alert as he struggled anew against his captors. Barricade stepped forward toward Crankcase, bringing himself and the gift in his hands into the light as he dropped Megan into Crankcase's servo.

* * *

Megan trembled as Barricade handed her over to the one called Crankcase and the clear leader of the ones holding Mirage. Her ribs were still protesting Barricade's rough handling as Crankcase curled his talons around her chest in a tight embrace that threatened to cut off her air supply. At least her arms were free. She looked up fearfully at Crankcase with wide eyes and couldn't help but think of how he looked like 'The Predator's' scarier cousin. Barricade moved off a little to one side.

Her attention was brought back to Mirage as the mech growled and struggled against his captors, his eyes were blazing like blue-white fire in the dark. Megan could tell even in the dim light that Mirage wasn't doing too well. Bright blue liquid leaked from various wounds on his body and stood out in stark relief against his red armor, one of his door wings looked like it was about to fall off. Megan gasped as the one who was holding her tightened it's grip, unnecessarily reminding her that she was most likely about to die a cruel death. Mirage growled and struggled again.

The Decepticon on Mirage's right looked like a beast, with a wickedly barbed tail and large teeth like blades coming from his mouth. The other also had large 'teeth' and four large glowing red eyes. All three wore dark black armor that gleamed in what little light was making it's way to the forest floor. She only spared the Decepticons a glance each before focusing on the reason she was here, Mirage.

"Let her go Crankcase." Mirage growled.

Mirage's voice was lower and more dangerous than Megan had ever heard it, and it thankfully gave her a focus to her fear. She took as deep a breath as she could and willed herself to focus and not go back to wondering what she could possibly do to such powerful beings. She was here and it was far to late to be reconsidering. Crankcase sneered at Mirage and tightened his grip even more, Megan felt like she was trapped in a vice.

She could barely breathe but didn't take her eyes off Mirage. Mirage looked back at Megan and could feel his coolant boil at the sight of her in Crankcase's servos and being powerless to help her. He fought with renewed strength against Hatchet and Crowbar, but his efforts were in vain. Megan just had to wait for a little longer, buy a little more time being the distraction.

"You should be more concerned about yourself and not your squishy pet." Crankcase snarled as he shook Megan back and forth, her head whipping with enough force to give her whiplash.

Megan could suddenly take a deep breath as the hand around her loosened so she lay flat in the giant's palm. She shuddered with racking coughs as she tried to breathe normally. She grunted in pain as one sharp talon pressed between her shoulder blades and pinned her where she lay. She tried to move but that only served to have the claw at her back dig deeper into her flesh. She couldn't even see Mirage from the way she was facing.

"Tell me where the Autobot base is located and your pet will not have to die painfully. If you do not comply I will enjoy slowly killing her in front of your optics."

Mirage replied with what sounded like a swear word coming from a dial-up computer. Megan paid little attention to the conversation as she strained her eyes against the darkness to look better at the hand she lay in. Hoping against hope that Barricade wasn't going to betray her and that he had managed to get into place, she thrust her hand into one of the small seams of Crankcase's hand while screaming.

"NOW!"

In an instant, several things happened at once. Crankcase pressed down with his sharp finger letting it sink into her back. Megan felt the pain in her back and used all her strength to rip the cables she had managed to grasp out from Crankcase's hand. Reacting instinctively, Crankcase released her and she fell from his fingers like a grain of sand.

Meanwhile Barricade, who had carefully gotten into position while Crankcase had taunted his captives launched himself at Hatchet while deploying Frenzy who flew over Mirage's head and attacked Crowbar's four optics. Mirage who now found himself no longer being restrained, wasted no time in lunging forward and catching Megan before she could greet the ground almost twenty feet below her.

Megan felt her head crack hard against the metal of Mirage's hands, half stunning her, but she was still grateful for the save. Mirage skidded to a stop, his feet digging great trenches in the earth, as he quickly set Megan behind him and faced Crankcase. The blades that Megan had once seen at his elbows snapped forward as he yelled a single word at her.

"Run!"

Mirage didn't pause to see if she followed his order and rushed toward Crankcase, his blades practically singing as they sliced through the air. Megan stumbled behind a tree and tried to clear her spinning head, before leaning around the trunk and taking stock of the situation. Barricade was wielding a mace-like weapon against the beast-like Decepticon while Mirage clashed blades with Crankcase, who had also armed himself with swords coming from his wrists. The only problem was the four eyed one who had finally grasped Frenzy and flung the tiny robot into the forest.

Having successfully disposed of the annoying insect of a mini-con Crowbar transformed one of his servos into a cannon and aimed for the exposed back of a distracted Mirage. Megan reacted without thought and rushed from her hiding place behind the tree. She put her fingers to her lips and gave a piercing whistle which sufficiently distracted the massive bot. His four piercing red optics landed on her as she shouted, hoping to anger the bot enough to forget about shooting Mirage.

"Hey you! Over here Four-eyes! Your creator's are so ugly they must have made you out of a trash compactor!"

Megan had a tiny voice in her head asking if she had really just used a modified 'yo momma' joke to insult a giant alien robot that was trying to kill her. She didn't have time to answer it because the louder voice in her head was screaming 'DUCK!'. Megan dived for the dirt as a fiery bolt shot over her head and punched through the large tree she had previously been hiding behind.

Megan had to scramble out-of-the-way as the tree fell toward her, unable to support itself on it's damaged trunk. 'Four-eyes', a.k.a. Crowbar, only had optics for the organic femme he was about to turn into a flaming crater. That is, until a few hundred pounds of wood fell onto his helm. Megan knew better than to think that a tree had managed to do her job for her, and dashed for the forest as the robot behind her shook the tree off with a deafening roar.

Megan could hardly see the ground with what little moonlight there was as she crashed through the bush and leaped over half seen obstacles. Her ankles threatened to twist with every step of her blind dash through the trees but she couldn't slow. She could hear the enraged Decepticon close behind her, it's every step shaking the ground and making the trees tremble. She ran for what felt like forever, the only thing existing in that moment was her pounding feet and the need to escape.

Megan thought for a moment that she had burst into another clearing when she suddenly saw the stars and moon hanging brightly overhead. She realized the mistake in her thinking as she dragged her heels and nearly fell onto her butt trying to cease her momentum. The gravel and thin clay of the edge of the gully crumbled a bit from her weight, a forty-foot drop straight down into a small but fast flowing stream at the bottom, which was swollen with rain water.

Megan didn't have time to make any further observations because at that moment Four-eyes came charging out of the forest, a large metal fist swinging in her direction. Megan's gymnastic training kicked in and she managed to execute a sideways roll, the only problem was that when she landed the ground was no longer there. The soil at the edge of the gully couldn't handle the weight of such a large cybertronian and immediately crumbled, sending both Megan and Crowbar into the water below.

Megan only had time to give a short scream of surprise and fear before the cold silty water closed over her head. Struggling against the current she fought her way to the surface, choking to get air into her lungs. She cast her gaze over the water to find out where Four-eyes went, but she was already being swept down stream by the current and there was no sign of the cybertronian. She hoped for a moment that he sank before her focus was brought back to her own situation as her head went under once more.

She gasped and spat trying to find a way to shore, her sweater already soaked and its weight dragging her down, further exhausting her. The water was freezing and sapped her already flagging strength. She clawed at the banks, trying to find purchase in the slippery wet clay. It was no use, the sides of the gully were too steep and unstable to support even her meager weight. She spotted what could be her only chance in a pine tree that had toppled upside down, so its top was in the stream but its roots still clinging to the banks above.

With increasingly weak kicks Megan collided into the tree and grasped the branches. Her grip nearly failed on the slick needles that stabbed into her palms even as she refused to let them go. She rested for a moment, her muscles trembling with exertion and her breath coming in ragged pants. It was the cold water that encouraged her to keep moving, lest she freeze or drown.

It was slow going, she had to climb the upside-down tree without dislodging it from the already unstable soil it was threatening to fall from. After what seemed like an eternity, Megan found herself laying flat on her back at the edge of the gully. She quickly moved away from the edge, not knowing if she could survive another dunk in those waters. She looked warily at the darkness of the forest despite her exhaustion.

She had no idea where she was, let alone what had happened back at the clearing after she had led Four-eyes away trying to even the odds. She just hoped Mirage was ok. Still, she didn't know just how far the water had carried her away from the fight or if any of the Decepticons were hanging around the forest. She shivered in her soaked clothes as a chilly wind picked up. It was supposed to be a warm summer night, but all Megan could feel was her chattering teeth and numbing fingertips.

She stumbled through the trees, unsure of which way to go, unable to feel her fingers and jumping nervously at every sound, imagined or not. She didn't dare to call out for Mirage, that would be like asking for the Decepticons to find her again. She froze as she heard a skittering sound, something rustling unseen in the brush. She relaxed a little, knowing she had much bigger things to fear then what could hide in a bush.

She almost screamed as something about her size and definitely metallic rushed her from the bush she had watched. She clutched her chest with relief as she tried to calm her frantically beating heart.

"Frenzy! You scared me. Are you alright? Where's Barricade and Mirage?"

Frenzy didn't bother to answer her in English, instead he chattered in his incomprehensible language and roughly tugged at her sleeve. He nearly drug her to the ground as he released her and dashed away into the forest. Megan ran after the little bot as she wondered irritably if Frenzy didn't know how to speak english or if he just didn't to annoy her. She lost sight of Frenzy a few times but he apparently wanted her to follow because he was never far.

She fell to the forest floor a few times, cursing her poor eyesight every time she had to peel herself from the ground and find Frenzy again. After several minutes of blindly fumbling through the dark she heard the telltale sounds of massive beings talking in their dialup talk. Megan pushed aside some branches to find herself back at the clearing where the fight had started.

"Mirage what are you doing?" Megan exclaimed once she took in the situation in the clearing.

Mirage and Barricade were standing in roughly the center of the clearing with cannons pointed at each others spark chambers. Megan was relieved to notice that the Decepticons were no where in sight but she was a little disturbed to notice how white Mirage's normally blue optics were.

"Megan, get behind me right now." Mirage still had the dangerously angry voice that he had used when speaking to Crankcase.

Megan's mouth went dry as she did as he asked and moved so she was behind one of his massive feet, but not close enough to easily step on. The tone in his voice left for nothing else but compliance, in short he was very much pissed off. Neither Barricade's nor Mirage's cannon wavered from their targets, though Mirage's might have trembled almost imperceptibly. His energon levels were dangerously low at 52%, the fight with Crankcase had cost him greatly and he couldn't keep up his battle programming like this for very long.

Barricade spoke up but didn't lower his weapon.

"There. You have your organic pet, so lower your weapon Autobot and tend to your own." Barricade's voice was rough with a permanent snarl.

"Give me one reason I should let you live Decepticon." Mirage spat the last word like a curse.

"I'll give you two. You couldn't take me in your present condition and I just saved your sorry Autoaft from being offlined." Barricade all but roared with frustration.

Megan thought that now would be a good time to try to intercept the escalating argument before either of them decided to pull the trigger. She stepped closer to Mirage and placed a hand on his leg armor.

"He's telling the truth Mirage. He came up with a plan and helped me to get here."

"And handed you over to Crankcase!" Mirage hissed.

Megan feared that the worst would happen if she didn't somehow intervene. Megan stepped out from behind Mirage and placed herself in front of him between the two bot's and turned her back to face Mirage. Mirage's blazing white optics flickered to her face for only a moment before focusing back on Barricade.

"Megan get behind me now."

"No. You need to listen first. Yes what we did was dangerous, but it was the only way to both distract them and get Barricade into the clearing. Barricade told me what to do to get them to drop me should it look like things were going south. And whether you like it or not he just saved your life."

That caused Mirage to pause and narrow his optics suspiciously at the Decepticon.

"You were the one who called Megan's communication device and warned us." It was not a question.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Barricade sneered even further before answering.

"It was my signature that Crankcase was originally casing when you first encountered him. Although it was unintentional, you grabbed their attention and they abandoned their chase of me to pursue you. My systems are not damaged, I have defected from the Decepticons and would have most likely been offlined for insubordination had you not intervened. I owed you a debt."

Mirage was still not convinced.

"Why get involved now?"

Barricade growled and gashed his dental plates.

"I may have once been a Decepticon but that doesn't mean I am completely void of any code of honour. A debt has to be repaid."

Mirage was surprised by his response but let no such emotion cross his face plates. As if by a silent signal they both powered down their weapons and lowered them to the ground, but didn't put them away. Megan eyed the pair, fully expecting them to lunge for each others throats. There was a long moment of silence until Mirage spoke.

"Your debt is paid. Leave."

"No need to tell me twice." Barricade snorted disdainfully and scooped a hiding Frenzy from a bush as he disappeared into the dark forest without a backward glance. A small black bundle, the backpack of Megan's belongings, flew back that them and landed in the dirt like an afterthought. Megan ran over to it and shouldered her pack carefully, her back twinging painfully, before calling out after the former Decepticon.

"Thanks Barricade!"

Barricade made no sign he heard her, but Megan had the feeling he did. Megan looked back to Mirage, who's optics were still blazing white and now focused down at her

_'Ah boy, here it comes.'_ Megan sighed to herself as she braced for Mirage's anger.

"Thanks? That Decepticon put you in the servos of the enemy, almost got you killed multiple times and you THANK HIM!?"

Megan flinched and covered her ears. She was more than slightly intimidated by the mech after all that had happened, but she reminded herself that Mirage was not a Decepticon. Megan shivered again as the wind blew through the clearing, and she felt her own ire toward Mirage gain momentum. She was cold, wet, covered in bruises and scrapes all over her body, the wound in her back burned and she was exhausted from all that had happened. The little voice in her head was beginning to wonder why she had just risked her life to save the stubborn bot, and she was beginning to agree with it. Megan planted her feet and glared right back.

"I thanked him because he just saved your life you ungrateful hunk of tin. Since your to much of a stuck up, overstuffed robot to do it yourself."

"I did not need his or your help in this matter. I was handling it perfectly fine until you showed up."

"Sure you did. It really looked like you had them exactly where you wanted them." Megan's scoff coming from between chattering teeth was less impressive than she wanted it to be. Mirage clenched his servos and scowled down at her.

"I wouldn't have been in that mess if it wasn't for you."

Megan stopped breathing and her heart skipped a beat. She looked up at Mirage, her anger gone and replaced with a stunned feeling of falling. Like she had been climbing stairs and had thought there was one more stair before the top. Only to find that the expected stair wasn't there and the floor was gone as well. Megan's stomach felt like it had jumped into her throat, she wrapped her arms around herself and stared unseeing at the ground.

"Stop." She managed to whisper.

"If it wasn't for you, Crankcase wouldn't have been able to track me."

"Stop." She said louder this time, her hands were curled into fists, nails biting into her palms.

Mirage knew he was being unfair and that he was acting like a spoiled sparkling pointing an accusing finger at some other bot, but he was far to angry at her foolish actions to care. He wanted her to feel guilty for putting herself in that kind of danger. He wanted her to admit that she had been wrong to follow him.

"If it wasn't for you-"

"STOP BLAMING ME!" Megan screamed at him.

Mirage paused at the tears in her optics. The human internet had described the action as being a physical expression of extreme emotion. When Megan had cried before it was like she wasn't even aware of them, Mirage had noted their presence and what they stood for, but hadn't understood why humans did so. Now as she gave him a look that revealed all the veiled pain and guilt she carried in her human spark, he wondered how she didn't break from it. Was that what made tears necessary for humans to express? A breaking in their spark?

Mirage's optics faded from battle mode white to their normal deep azure blue and his bristling armor settled back into place. Megan looked away and tried to stop her hiccuped sobs with deep breaths. She collected her thoughts and Mirage waited for her to do so. Megan wiped her tears into her already wet and stained sweater. Finally she spoke.

"You left me." She whispered.

Mirage tilted his head, and thought back to her face when he had indeed left her back at the bus stop. His spark clenched momentarily at the memory but he refused to acknowledge it.

"To keep you safe." He said simply.

"That's not the point!" She glared at him again with bright red rimmed eyes, her voice raising slightly before she could calm down once again. She took another deep breath and spoke in a calm voice, determined not to get angry again. Determined not to let the sadness loose again to crush her.

"I know it was my fault the Decepticons found us again, and I felt guilty as hell because of it. When… you left me I thought about how it was all my fault and how you were about to pay for my mistake, likely with your life. I couldn't handle the guilt. Then Barricade showed up out of nowhere and told me how you were captured, and that I could help. I didn't think, just acted. If there was even the tiniest chance that I could help you get out alive, even at the risk of my life, I would have jumped on it."

Mirage opened his mouth to comment but Megan raised a hand, stopping him before he could start.

"Let me finish. Barricade explained his plan to me and we came here as soon as we could. The plan wasn't perfect by any means but it gave you the best chance at escaping. Barricade did it because of his accidental debt to you, I did it because in some strange way I care about you and wasn't about to go about living with the guilt of your death. I am sorry for what I put you through Mirage, but I will not apologize for following you. I will not apologize for risking my life to fix my mistakes."

Her hazel eyes bored into his blue, still overly bright and red-rimmed but no less determined. Mirage was stunned. In all his many vorns of working for the Autobots, very few had ever taken the time to get to know him. Even fewer would do what Megan had just done. And yet here he was looking down at an organic who'd known him for less than a few days and yet still rushed to his aid with a Decepticon defector in tow. It was enough to make Prowl's logic processor short out.

Mirage vented a sigh and crouched down so he was closer to Megan's level and put a hand at her back. She looked up at him, startled by the gentle gesture from the mech, but leaned gratefully into the warm metal that offered protection from the wind.

"Thank you, but if you ever put your life in danger like that again I will hang you upside down in the tallest tree I can find." Mirage said in a completely honest and solemn tone. A tired smile leaked into Megan's expression.

"I'm not going to make any promises, I am very well-known for getting into dangerous situations after all. So I guess if you want to keep me safe you'll have to stick around and not leave me behind again. Ok?"

Mirage nodded, a small half-smile appeared on his faceplates for a moment. His smile quickly disappearing when Megan shivered again from the wind blowing through the clearing. He activated his scanners and scanned the trembling girl, what he did see worried him just as much as what he couldn't. Her body temperature was several degrees below normal and covered in scrapes and cuts. She also sported; bruised ribs, a large swelling on her forehead from Mirage catching her, and a small gash in her back from Crankcase's claw which was still leaking blood.

Mirage checked his own systems. His energon levels were severely depleted, his right door wing was heavily damaged on top of his many dented plates and minor injuries. His only blessing was that the stab he had taken to his shoulder joint would heal and he would soon have the use of both his servos. His other injuries would heal with rest and time, time that he didn't have.

"We must go. The Dreads retreated after Barricade and I dealt them heavy damage, but that will not keep them away for long."

Megan nodded and Mirage led the way through the forest as quietly as a huge metal being could, which wasn't very quiet. Megan continued to shiver from the cold and her own exhaustion as she stumbled behind him, trying not to fall on her face in the dark again. They found the small dirt path that could vaguely be called a road and Mirage transformed, somewhat painfully, into his new alt-mode and opened the driver side door for her. The heaters already going at full blast, to help battle the cold finding its way into her limbs. Megan was far too tired, and it was far too dark, for her to notice or admire his alt-form.

She all but collapsed into the seat and curled into the warm leather as she fell instantly asleep, her body recognizing that she was safe and rest was possible. Mirage snaked the seat-belt into place and drove carefully, but quickly, away from the park and Crescent city and toward somewhere he hoped both of them could find a safe place to tend their wounds and rest for a short time.

* * *

**This one was hard to write for reasons I don't understand. So just to make everything clear to ya'll. The Dreads are still on the hunt, just licking their wounds for now. It's looking like the next few chapters are going to be slightly fluffy until the next poop storm hits our favorite duo. (Mwahaha! Secrets will be revealed and more questions will arise!) So if you like what you read and want more in a reasonable time READ AND REVIEW! (or I will feel discouraged and my muse will take a vacation to who knows where, it's not a threat it's a fact)**


	10. Chapter 10: Apologies

**How much do you guys love me? Have I failed to update at least once a week yet? Sure the chapters are sometimes a little short but I'm trying to get better at it. You have to remember that to me these chapters are fragging huge! Ok so a warning for you all is that there is some swearing in this chapter, but lets face it swearing happens in real life so it's gonna happen here. It's nothing major so don't worry too much. Oh and I posted another chapter in 'Underestimated' so go check that out. It's most recent chapter is related to the conversation Mirage and Megan have in chapter 8 about music. It's just a lil' song-ficish fluff to enjoy so go check it out. (Seriously go look at it, it has hints for what's going to happen in this one if you know how to speak author-ese.) **

**Disclaimer: I don't own scrap, or transformers for that matter. But Megan is mine!**

* * *

"Talking"  
_'Thinking'_  
:Comm link:

* * *

Crankcase was enraged. He ripped a young tree from its roots and threw it, knocking over several others but it did nothing to relieve his temper. So instead he grabbed Crowbar by his throat and hit him so hard Crowbar was knocked onto his aft faster than he could process that fact. It had taken hours to pull Crowbar from the muddy pit of a ravine he had fallen into trying to crush the human. Not only had he gotten stuck but he had also let the human escape. Crankcase brought out his blades and placed it over one of Crowbar's many optics.

"Give me one reason I shouldn't offline you right now?" Crankcase snarled.

Crowbar grunted and glared but didn't move or answer, he knew he was no match for Crankcase in an uneven fight let alone a fair one. Crankcase snorted disdainfully and aimed a final vicious kick at the prone bot before stalking away. It wouldn't do to damage his subordinates, not while they couldn't afford the damages, later was another matter.

Crowbar was only lightly damaged from his tangle with Frenzy with a few slashes to his central nerve system and a few coolant lines. Crowbars biggest problem was the enormous amounts of cloying mud that had seeped into his systems and vents. Crankcase was damaged but didn't have anything beyond what his systems could handle, a nicked energon line here, a lucky stab to his leg there. Even when weakened from energon loss Mirage was not a mech to tangle with in close range combat, as Crankcase had learned.

Hatchet sported the worst of the injuries, with his chest half ripped open, 'tail' gone in the thick woods, and one servo completely detached. The Decepticon growled in pain as he tried to fix his own wounds but his fingers were to large, and he hardly had more then enough programming to do more then a basic field patch. It had been because Hatchet was severely damaged and the traitor Barricade had been about to interfere Crankcase's fight with Mirage that they had retreated. Crankcase never liked uneven odds in a fight.

"Crowbar. Use your nanotech to help Hatchet with his injuries." Crankcase ordered.

Hatchet snarled as Crowbar approached but allowed the mech to use his advanced nanotech, primarily used for infiltration, to assist in healing him. Crankcase wasn't about to give up the hunt. It was likely they were too late to kill Mirage before he could warn the Autobots, so their mission from Soundwave was a failure. However after having Mirage at his mercy and being thwarted by a human and a Decepticon deserter, Crankcase wasn't about to leave earth anytime soon. Orders or not.

He would kill Mirage and that fragging human if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

Megan slowly became aware of her surroundings again thanks to a combination of bright sunlight, chirping birds and a growling belly. Her stomach was greeting her spine and complaining loudly that she had missed supper the night before. Despite her hunger she was, in a way, slightly grateful for the previous nights exertions, it at least meant she was too tired to have nightmares. Though no doubt the Decepticons would find a place in her nightly show, somewhere, eventually. Megan's back flared painfully as she stretched and yawned trying to wake up. She wasn't surprised when a lightly accented italian voice spoke up from the radio in front of her.

"Are you online again Megan?"

"The word you're looking for is awake, and the answer is mostly. Where are we now?" Megan asked as she yawned again and tried to clear the blurriness from her eyes.

"We are just at the outskirts of a small town thirty minutes south of Crescent city. This was as far as I could go with how low my energon reserves were last night. Now that I have recharged and let my systems compensate for the loss we can move on again."

When Mirage said a small town he meant it. They were parked on the far side of a rundown gas station that was painted in a tacky, faded green and orange color scheme. On the other side of the road was what looked like a small sheep farm and just down the road was a shop selling 'unique' redwood art sculptures. Megan looked back to the dash still trying to force her eyes to focus.

"The Decepticons?"

"There has been no sign of them, I believe it is safe to say we have lost them for now. As for if they will be able to somehow find us again, remains to be seen. We can afford no more delays, we must get to base as quickly as possible. You have only been recharging for about five hours. You should rest more if you are to fully recover."

"Naw. Once I'm awake, I'm pretty much up for the day. Besides, you got hurt more than I did last night. Do you need, like, first aid or something?" Mirage took a moment to look up what first aid was before replying.

"No, I do not require 'first aid', thank you. My systems are already repairing what damage they can. I should be functioning at 78% capacity by the end of today, but I will have to 'take it easy' as you humans say. I was fortunate not to receive more crippling damage."

"I think we both were lucky on that count. If it's alright with you I'm going to see if this place has a first aid kit for me, or something to eat at the very least."

"Very well, but we should not stay here for very long. We must keep moving."

"Sounds good to me."

Megan grabbed her bag and marched over to the store without a backwards glance. The little, old, gray-haired woman who was standing behind the counter only looked away from the overhead TV to shoot her a quick glance, and then do a double take. Megan wondered if she looked as bad as she felt as she wandered the back of the store and found a small tin first aid kit that looked like it hadn't been dusted in ages. She also grabbed a bottle of disinfectant, a bag of chips, a bottle of water and a plastic wrapped sandwich before making her way to the counter.

"You have a bathroom I can use?" Megan asked with a cocked eyebrow, after she paid and took the plastic bag, ignoring the strange look the lady was giving her.

"Uh, ya in the back. Here's the key." The woman said hesitantly and pushed the key across the counter.

"Thanks." Megan said with a slightly sarcastic tone. She really wanted to tell her it was rude to stare.

Megan made her way to the back of the store and occupied the single washroom, locking it behind her. First she had to tend to her wounds so she opened the kit and took off her sweater and gray tank top she had under it. She mourned the state of her favorite green sweater, ripped, stained, and covered in more than its fair share of mud. Megan doubted it would ever be the same, even if she did patch it up and find a detergent strong enough to remove most of the mud.

Megan caught sight of herself in the cracked mirror and mentally apologized to the lady at the front. Had Megan seen a stranger enter her workplace looking like she did she would have stared much more than the little lady had. Megan's face was spotted with a layer of dried earth, her hair was worse because it was plastered in a standing position with mud and debris. She also had an unhealthy bruise taking up the right side of her forehead. She basically looked like someone had dragged her through a bog before beating her senseless.

Megan twisted around, taking an inventory of her injuries and mentally going over her limited first aid capabilities for what she could do for them. She had extensive bruising, in the shape of large fingers wrapping around her torso, already turning a rainbow of colors. She just thanked her luck stars she didn't seem to have any broken or fractured ribs, though it did hurt a little to breathe too deeply. Megan traced them with careful fingers and shuddered to think to just how easily she could have been crushed. Before pushing the thoughts into the 'drawer-of-unpleasant-things-I-don't-think-about' she had in the back of her head. The drawer was feeling more than a little full these days.

Megan than examined the jagged tear in her skin between her shoulder blades from Crankcase's talons. She was lucky it wasn't deep or wide enough to need stitches and had stopped bleeding on its own. Using the lukewarm water from the sink and using the gray tank she had worn for a rag, she cleaned herself and her various cuts and wounds. She had trouble cleaning and disinfecting Crankcase's handiwork but after some cursing and twisting on her part she managed to get it done. She even managed to wash her hair in the sink, or at least clean out most of the mud and twigs.

Megan than changed into clean clothes, standard jeans and a purple t-shirt, and put her wet and dirty things into the plastic bag her first aid kit had come in before tucking them into her bag. She would have to find somewhere with a washing machine before she could wear them again. She checked her watch for the time only to find that it had stopped, thanks to the wet treatment it had received the previous night. Megan sighed and walked out of the washroom feeling much better then she had coming in. She handed the key back to the woman with a smile, the lady only looked back suspiciously, and exited the store.

Megan scanned the mostly deserted parking lot, but didn't see a red '67 Shelby anywhere. Her eyebrows furrowed and she felt a small pit open in her stomach to think that, maybe, he had left her behind again. Her fears were found to be groundless when she caught a flashing of headlights from the corner of her eye. She turned with a smile, and then her jaw dropped in astonishment and a sprinkling of dawning horror. Megan guessed her cousin was right when he said she was extremely unobservant when she was tired, if she hadn't notice the car she woke up in was that.

Mirage's new alt-form was none other than a Ferrari 458 italia in a paint color that she recognized as her own handiwork, even tough it had been an entirely different car that she had painted. Mirages panels were still a little scratched, dented and scuffed, and one door still looked a little twisted but that didn't stop him from sticking out like a sore thumb. No it was worse, he stuck out like a high performance sports vehicle sitting in the parking lot of a rundown gas station. Megan hurried over, feeling the stares of the lady in the gas station boring into her back as she plopped into the driver's seat. The interior was just as gorgeous as the inside, all leather and fancy designs, she tried not to let it distract her as she lectured the bot.

"Holy gram crackers Mirage! _This_ is the alt-form you picked? I thought you were a spy, do you even know the meaning of the words low-profile? 'Cuz this is not low-profile by any means."

Mirage vented a sigh and would have rolled his optics at the girl had he been in his bi-pedal form. He started his engine and pulled out of the gas station, driving quickly out of the town.

"I was looking for specifications for optimal speed performance to be able to outrun Decepticons. I have a spark cloak to keep off sensors, besides this form was pleasing to me."

Megan chuckled despairingly and muttered something about picky aliens with expensive tastes. She really didn't mind though, she was after all sitting in the car of her dreams. She reached for the seat-belt and buckled in, wincing when the action sent a whisper of pain across her ribs. Mirage wasn't oblivious to the quick grimace and felt obliged to scan her again. He silently berated himself for once thinking internal scanning capabilities as a waste of processor space.

"How are your injuries? Do you require a medic?" He inquired, his engine rumbled in frustration that he had to ask instead of being able to know for himself that she was properly functioning.

"No I'm alright. A little banged up and longing for a proper wash but nothing too bad. I've had worse actually." Megan said the last sentence with a tone that Mirage could only think was regretful. He was curious and wanted to ask but refrained, remembering that they had made a mutual agreement not to ask about each others past.

"Besides I think I'd have a tough time trying to explain to the doctors why my bruises look like gigantic fingers." Megan said with a self-depreciating chuckle.

"Yes. That would be hard to explain without rousing suspicion, but as far as I can see they seem to be healing well."

Megan hesitated at his words as she twisted the cap on her water bottle. Her eyes narrowed and Mirage recognized it as a sign that he had said something wrong.

"What do you mean you can 'see' that my ribs are healing well? Last time I checked I didn't show them to you and I've been wearing clothes that covered them. So how would you know?" Her tone was low and suspicious.

"I scanned you. Regretfully don't have internal scanning progr-"

"Wait. Like you have like x-ray or CT scan vision or something? Do you know how much of an invasion of privacy that is? There's a reason we have to give permission at hospitals for them to do that kind of thing." Megan crossed her arms over her chest, partly from anger and partly from having her privacy violated. Mirage looked up the medical terms she had mentioned before answering.

"No I do not have what you would call 'x-ray vision', that is what I was trying to tell you. I do not have the programming necessary to do internal scans, especially on an organic being. I am only able to see superficial damage like your bruises."

Megan didn't uncross her arms, she was far to ticked at Mirage to quickly forgive him this time. Mirage of course didn't see why she was making such a fuss over such a trivial thing.

"Ok so you haven't been sneaking a peek at my internal organs, but still Mirage! You can't just do that kind of thing without asking. Don't do it again without my permission, got it?" She growled, her hands clenched into fists and her glare directed at the dash. Mirage vented a frustrated sigh and agreed grudgingly.

Megan glared out the window, her posture still tense and upset despite his agreement not to scan her. Mirage's engine grumbled as he internally muttered about difficult femmes. Megan was royally ticked off, she hated hospitals, she hated doctors, and she especially hated scans of any kind. She was at least a little comforted by the fact he hadn't been looking inside her, but still. To find out that Mirage had been doing scans on her without her knowledge was hurtful to say the least, and a stubborn part of her wanted to stay angry.

An uneasy atmosphere dominated the cab for almost a half hour before Mirage began to calm down and look at the situation from Megan's point of view. He had promised after the incident at her grandparents home that he would respect her privacy, and though he had done it unintentionally, he had broken that promise. He was still frustrated by Megan's reaction, he had only done it to make sure she was functioning properly for Primus' sake.

He observed Megan's overly tense posture and knew immediately that an apology would only end in another fight. Even if he could choke the words 'I'm sorry' from his vocal processor. Mirage racked his CPU for a solution and surprisingly found one that was both nearby and in the direction they were heading. If he couldn't apologize perhaps a gesture of goodwill would do it for him. Mirage certainly hoped so or it would be a long drive with a grumpy human in tow.

After about another hour of driving and skirting around the edges of an unavoidable town Mirage took the turn off onto the more scenic route. The turn and the change in pace surprised Megan enough to forget for a moment that she wasn't speaking to Mirage.

"Mirage? What are you doing?"

"We are merely taking a detour. Trust me."

Megan shot a suspicious look at the dash but said nothing. The last time she had said she trusted the mech she was caught up in a car chase between an advance alien race. Only to later have him dump her on her butt at a bus stop, so she was more than willing to give Mirage the benefit of the doubt. Tall trees shaded the well maintained, two lane road as Megan read the sign and knew exactly where they were.

Mirage was taking her along the 'Avenue of the Giants'. It was a famous scenic roadway that drove through one of the largest remaining parks of redwood trees. When Megan had originally planned her trip she had planned on driving along this route, but she didn't remember telling Mirage that. Then again she had spoken her plans aloud when she still thought he was just a junkyard car. She glanced over at the dash, surprised that the mech had not only been listening back then, but that he even remembered what she had said.

They continued driving in relative silence, but the tension that had lingered before was gone. Megan admired the towering trees as they drove past, dropping all pretenses of 'driving' on the empty road to take in the sights. Megan, unlike most people her age, could appreciate the beauty and age of these massive trees. She couldn't help but to compare the bases of the trees to Mirage's legs, if only because they were the same width, if not made of the same materials.

Mirage chuckled at the look of awe the girl gave the towering wooden giants as they passed their feet.  
It was a similar look that she had given him when he first transformed in front of her. Even Mirage, who by principle didn't care much for organic anything, could appreciate the beauty of this place and the trees that would tower over even Optimus.

The drive along the avenue seemed almost to short and all to soon they were at the end of the road. Megan gave a slight sigh as they pulled away from the last of the trees and even turned around in her seat to look back at them. She wasn`t looking where they were going so she was again surprised when Mirage turned into a parking lot and came to a stop. Megan was about to ask what he was doing when she saw the large and slightly tacky looking sign in front of them.

***Shrine Drive-thru Tree***

"The fee is six dollars. I believe this was a stop in your original travel plans, if you still wish to stop here that is."

Megan was out of his alt-form and more or less tossing the money at the young man at the window booth, before Mirage had even finished speaking. The young man looked like his eyes were going to pop out of his head at the sigh of Mirage and numbly took the money. Megan gleefully jumped back into the driver's seat and pretended to drive through the entrance. Mirage didn't really understand why Megan was so excited about this particular tree. After all it was the same as all the other trees they had been passing for the past hour. The only difference possibly being your could drive through this one.

Megan held her breath as they approached the weathered arch of aged wood, and breathed out again in disappointment as they had to come to a stop. Her shoulders slumped slightly in disappointment and Mirage cycled his vents in frustration. They were so close, the only problem was Mirage was slightly too wide to fit through the narrow gap. If he tried, he would take out his mirrors and shave off a lot of paint. Mirage's engine growled slightly and Megan patted the dash with a half-smile.

"It's ok Mirage. I appreciate you bringing me here. I can still walk through it."

Megan reached for the door handle only for the locks to suddenly activate, keeping the door closed and her in the car. Megan looked at the dash.

"Mirage?"

"Just… one moment." Mirage almost sounded a little unsure. Megan waited, feeling unsure herself. She had heard Mirage get angry, she'd heard him be sad, she'd heard him sound proud and condescending too, but hearing him sound unsure about something was a new one.

Mirage cast a wide scan, double checking that they were alone and there were no one watching. They were in luck because it was lunch time and they were the only ones presently at the tree. Mirage wasn't really sure why he was doing this. He was taking an unnecessary risk in doing this, he could be seen or the transform sequence could go wrong and he could accidentally hurt Megan. It wasn't in his nature to take stupid risks for no reason, but he didn't want Megan to look so disappointed.

The sound of grinding gears was Megan's only warning. She grasped the wheel with slight panic when she saw and felt Mirage shift. The once seamless hood of Mirage's alt-form suddenly split and the pieces drew closer together, over lapping slightly. Megan couldn't see it but all his plating, all along his chassis, was lifting and over lapping slightly, making him a few inches less wide. With a final click that folded his side view mirrors Mirage carefully rolled forward. It was a slightly uncomfortable and awkward position for Mirage, moving forward while half transformed and plates folded in on themselves. However, if this was for some reason important to Megan, then he reasoned it was at least worth a momentary discomfort on his part.

Megan's breath became a shallow whisper as she leaned forward over the steering wheel to get a better look. She looked up and caught a glimpse of a circle of sky before Mirage's roof got in the way, and for one single moment she was in a redwood tree. The next moment she was out the other side and Mirage was folding his plates back into their proper position. Mirage continued to roll slowly away from the tree, and Megan turned to look back at it out the back window.

"Megan, you need to breathe."

Megan realized she was still holding her breath from that moment in the tree and let it go with a huff and a chuckle. She turned to speak to the dash with a grateful look.

"Thank you for that Mirage."

"You are welcome."

Several minutes later they were once again driving down the highway the radio was on now and Megan was relaxed and smiling. Mirage was pleased that his non-verbal apology had worked, but a question stirred in his processor.

"Why was that activity important to you?" Megan brought her attention back to the dash at Mirage's question

"Hmm…before I answer your question, do you mind if I ask one of my own?"

"No, I do not mind."

"How long does a cybertronian live?" Mirage hesitated to answer her, doing a some calculations on his internal chronometer. The number was one she wouldn't even begin to comprehend so he had to find another way of answering her.

"Our average life span would be close to that of a star, if only just a little shorter."

Megan's breath hitched in surprise and her eyes bugged out of her head. She struggled to wrap her head around just how old the being she was currently _sitting_ in was, and couldn't help but feel incredibly small in comparison. Megan felt a little foolish now and she doubted her explanation would make much sense to Mirage, but that wouldn't stop her from trying. She took a deep breath and collected her thoughts.

"That… is a really long time. As you probably already know humans only live an average of 80 years to a century with luck and care. Redwood trees, like the one we just drove through, have lived thousands of years. To know that, if only for an instant, I was at the base of something that was both here long before I was and will still be here long after I'm gone is somehow… comforting. It's hard to explain, even I'm not entirely sure I understand it."

Mirage somehow wasn't expecting this to be about human mortality. He knew very well how frail and short-lived organics on this planet were. After all it was one of the reasons he thought of them as weak and inferior. But somehow the reminder of just how fragile the brave little femme he was traveling with was, made his spark ache in its casing. Ignoring his spark Mirage became slightly irritated.

"I don't understand how reminding yourself of your own offlining could be comforting." He groused. Megan just laughed at his tone and comfortingly patted the steering wheel.

"Neither do I, so why don't we just let it go for now ok?"

Mirage wasn't sure he wanted to let it go but the reassuring hand on his wheel somehow soothed the feeling in his spark, so he did as she asked. They spoke for a while of Mirage's injuries, which were healing well, and the conversation turned to their destination.

"How long do you think it will take to get there?" Megan asked.

"If we drive through the night we can be there by about midnight." There was a beat of silence before Megan could think of anything to say.

"Oh." Was all she could manage.

Several minutes of silence followed as each of them followed their own internal thoughts. Only Mirage's engine and the radio playing softly in the background made any noise as they flew down the highway, getting closer to their destination all the while. Megan was the first to come out of it and made herself speak normally.

"That's good. I mean once we're there we won't have to worry about those Decepticons anymore, you can warn your friends about their plans, and get those repairs you need too." Megan knew that rationally it was for the best that they get to Mirage's allies as quickly as possible. However a small part of her wanted to stay with him. Megan mentally kicked herself, reminding herself not to get attached, it would only made the unavoidable goodbye that much harder.

"What will _you_ do? After I mean." Mirage asked in a neutral voice. Megan shrugged, just as carefully expressionless.

"I dunno. I mean, I now know that aliens live among us so I doubt the government will just let me leave with a hop, skip and a jump. They'll probably have me sign a non-disclosure form before they release me back into the wild. After that maybe I'll get a bus ticket to Utah. I've always wanted to try skydiving, then there's still that show in Vegas to see. Maybe I'll go home after that."

It didn't sit right in Mirage's tanks the idea of Megan leaving unprotected while the Dreads were still online and on earth. Perhaps he could speak to Optimus about it when he arrived, arrange extra security for her, it was the least he could do after all they had been through together. Though it still didn't feel right. Two unhappy trains of thought were suddenly interrupted by one growling human stomach. Megan blushed and put a hand to her complaining abdomen, it was late noon by now and Megan's stomach was quick to remind her of that fact. Without having to speak Mirage pulled into the parking lot of a café.

"Go refuel, and be quick we still have a lot of driving to do."

"Sir yes sir." Megan laughed and bounded away from the grumbling Autobot.

Megan entered the café and was all but slapped in the face with the smell of burgers and fries. Normally she would have loved such a scent but for some reason the greasy smell had her stomach churning sickeningly and her hunger died. Megan prayed she wasn't getting ill but decided to play it safe and merely bought a slightly withered apple to eat. She wandered back outside to get away from the smells and sat at the concrete divider by Mirage's bumper.

They got plenty of strange looks from passers-by, a scruffy short-haired girl sitting by a slightly damaged but still drool worthy Ferrari made quite the sight. The pair didn't exchange words, due to the number of people nearby, but Megan still found Mirage's presence comforting. She sadly thought of how she had best spend as much time as she could with him, while she could.

As Megan finished her fruit she noticed a battered phone booth just around the corner. She muttered out of the side of her mouth, sure that the advanced robot would be able to hear her.

"I'm going to call my aunt. If I'm going to be detained by the government they should know they won't be able to reach me for a while." Megan was surprised when Mirage's voice answered quietly back. She hadn't thought the bot could speak so quietly.

"Very well, but remain cautious. Do not tell them where you are or where you are going."

Megan nodded and picked herself up, walking over while tossing her apple core and fishing the right amount of change from her wallet. As she punched in the number she chewed her lip and thought over some good excuses for no longer having her phone. The phone on the other end rang once and was picked up before she could think of a good reason. Jake's voice came across the line.

"Hello?"

"Hey! What's crackin' cousin?"

"Megan! Is that you? Thank god you finally called back! We've been calling for hours but all we got from your phone is a not available message! Are you all right?" Jake sounded panicked and stressed and the raised tone of his voice instantly had Megan worried.

"I'm fine. Jake what's wrong?" There was a moment of silence where all Megan could hear was Jake taking a deep breath as if to steady himself.

"Megan… I don't know how else to tell you… but Felix showed up at the house this morning."

Megan felt as if Crankcase was squeezing her ribs again, her heart dropping like a lead stone while her stomach fought to bring her lunch back up. She stared unseeing at the ground, she could hear herself asking what happened, but her voice sounded oddly far away.

"He showed up after dad and I went to the shop this morning. Mom answered the door and there he was, with a gun in her face. He asked where you were, she didn't know what else to tell him so she told him the truth, that you went for a cross-country trip. He didn't hurt her, thank god, but he did scare her pretty bad and locked her in the basement before leaving. I came home to grab lunch and found her there. We've been trying to call you ever since. You gotta come home Megan."

Megan could hardly register his words over the sound of her blood pounding in her ears as she stared unseeing at the ground. She couldn't feel how hard she was grasping the phone as she gasped for air. She closed her eyes but couldn't keep the memories away this time.

_'Smoke. Can't breath. Got to move, but where to go? Keep moving. So hot, hot, hot, burning, too hot. Gotta get out but where to go? Too much smoke. Can't breath. Can't breath, can't breath, can't breath, can't-'_

Megan jolted out of the memory when a car horn blasted nearby. She looked up to see it was Mirage who was making all the racket, he quieted when she looked at him but his engine rumbled uncertainly. Megan then realized the reason she was having a hard time breathing, she was having another asthma attack and Jake was yelling over the phone for her to breathe. She fumbled in her pocket for her inhaler and tried to suppress the rasping coughing.

"Jake calm down I'm fine." She managed to say after she had taken her medicine. She cleared her throat a few times.

"Megan you have to come home. You can't stay out there with Felix looking for you. It's too dangerous. The police are here, they can protect you." Megan considered Jake's words and shook her head, though Jake couldn't see it.

"No, the police wouldn't stop him, only slow him down a bit. Let's face it if they couldn't find him in almost two years of searching for him there can't be much they can do at all."

"But Meg-"

"No Jake! They can't protect me forever and I refuse to put you and your parents in harm's way! I'm not coming home because if I stay away he'll leave you guys alone. He proved that when he only locked aunt Lisa in the basement instead of hurting her to get at me."

"But what if he finds you?" Jake demanded. Megan hesitated and asked herself honestly. What would she do if Felix found her? The truthful answer was she didn't know, she wasn't about to tell Jake that though.

"He won't find me. For all he knows I'm in Washington having dinner with the president. As long as I keep away he won't know where to look."

"Megan where are you? Please don't do this." Jake was practically begging, and it hurt but Megan couldn't let the past repeat itself. She wouldn't underestimate what Felix was capable of. She spoke over Jake's words hoping he would hear her and pass what she said along.

"I won't tell you where I am Jake. Take care of your parents ok? I lost my phone so I'll call you when I can. Whatever you do don't come looking for me, it'll only encourage him. I love you guys, stay safe."

She hung up as Jake called out to her. Megan's hand lingered on the phone, and for one insane moment she wished she could call back and say she was kidding and coming home as soon as she could. She didn't know where she would go now after she parted from Mirage, she guessed she would just have to cross that bridge when she came to it. She dug the nails of her free hand into her palm to keep herself grounded in the present. Megan refused to give in to the memories and she refused to cry. No she wasn't sad, she was pissed.

Megan had no doubt in her mind that if Felix had shown up in that moment, even with a gun in hand, she would have flown into a rage and killed him. Even if she had to use her bare hands and teeth to do it she would have done so gladly. He had taken everything from her and she had nothing left to lose, not even her own life. But he didn't show up in that moment, so it was all she could do to stand there trembling with sadness and rage.

It took Megan several minutes for her to start to think rationally again, and another minute for her to push away the memories and bottle the anger. Once she felt more like a human being again, she opened the flimsy glass door of the phone booth and slowly made her way to the anxiously rumbling Mirage. Megan sat down in the driver's seat and pulled her seat-belt on without a word, going through the motions of looking like she was driving as Mirage merged back onto the highway.

"Megan what is wrong?" Mirage asked in a quieter voice then normal. The last thing the mech wanted to do was upset her so soon after having made up for his last mistake.

"You weren't listening were you?" Megan asked. She could feel her earlier anger stir in her chest but reminded herself it wasn't Mirage she was angry with.

"No I wasn't listening. I gave my word as an Autobot I would not spy on your conversations and I hold to that word."

"Good." She sighed.

Not that it hadn't been hard for Mirage to do. Mirage had been sorely tempted to listen to the conversation as Megan's expression had steadily changed into one of shock and fear. He had to stop input from his audio receptors to resist the temptation, and then noticed the blank look in her eyes. It was a look he recognized from soldiers that were reliving long ago battles in their processor, the worst part was that she was having another attack and didn't even seem aware of it. He had to blast his horn several times to snap her out of it, and the look she had given him was dazed but grateful, if still very frightened.

Now as she sat in his sat in his driver's seat she seemed empty. She didn't even comment to him sourly as he accelerated and cut off a prius. Mirage was worried about her and wanted to know what could have scared the girl worse than even Crankcase had. He could still feel the slight trembling in her hands on his steering wheel.

"Megan what is wrong?" Mirage all but demanded to know. Megan bit her lip and wondered how much she should tell him.

"There was a bit of an accident at home. Nothing to worry about. They have it under control."

She spoke in short, clipped tones, making it clear she didn't want to speak of it anymore. Megan didn't want to burden Mirage with her problems anymore then she wanted to talk about them. Besides she reasoned, she would be saying goodbye to him once they arrived at the base so there wasn't much point in telling him. Felix was her problem, and one that couldn't be handled at the moment. Mirage could tell that he wasn't being told the truth but knew from experience that pushing for answers would only make things worse. So he had no choice but to let it go, though it still plagued his processor.

Megan could feel the exhaustion creeping in but couldn't muster the energy to fight it away. She was still healing from the Decepticon attack, running on minimal sleep and just dealt with her exhausting emotions while having an asthma attack at the same time. So as Megan fell into a deep, much-needed sleep, while Mirage continued to wonder and drive as quickly as he dared toward Optimus's signal.

* * *

Jake ran a hand through his hair as he exited the house. He could still hear his mom and dad yelling and swearing at the officers that had come over to the house, but he felt a little calmer now that he was outside. Jake had stayed at the house with an officer posted outside while his parents went to the police station, when Megan finally called. Jake clenched his hands at the memory and cursed his cousin for being so damn selfless.

"Any normal person would want the police for protection, but no, Megan just has to be a stubborn idiot about this."

Jake punched the railing of the back porch hurting his hand a little, but the feelings of being so helpless didn't go away. He had tried to convince Megan to come home, but now she was running scared convinced if she came home Jake's family would be the next on Felix's list. Jake could more than understand where she was coming from and why she felt that way, but it didn't make it easier to accept that he couldn't help her.

On one hand Jake was glad Megan had gone on her trip, if she had stayed here she would no doubt be dead right now. On the other, he had no idea where she was, no way of knowing if she was safe or if Felix was close to finding her. Jake had never met Felix but from what his mom had said of him he was insane, with just the wrong combination of clever canniness to make him extremely dangerous.

Jake listened to the loud argument going on in the house behind him. He had told his parents of Megan's wish to not be looked for, but that didn't stop them from wanting to look for Felix. The police chief in the house was trying to convince Jake's parents that the force was doing all it could to find Felix and arrest him. Jake's parents weren't convinced.

Jake sighed and ignored their conversation looking up at the setting sun with trepidation, hoping his cousin was safe where ever she was.

"Please somebody, anybody, keep her safe." He asked the sky, but it didn't reply.

* * *

**Hehehehehee. I'm just so evil aren't I? Arrival at base happens next chapter and boy is it going to be goooood~. Oh, and you think you know what Megan's secrets are now don't you? Well let me tell you now that you don't even know the half of them. She's still got at least one more horrible secret up her sleeve, and your all going to hate me for it. BWAHAHAHA! Remember to read and review please!**

* * *

**Oh and I posted another chapter in 'Underestimated' so go check that out. It's most recent chapter is related to the conversation Mirage and Megan have in chapter 8 about music. It's just a lil' song-ficish fluff to enjoy so go check it out. (Seriously go look at it, it has hints for what's going to happen in this one if you know how to speak author-ese.) I posted this again at the bottom because I know some people don't read the stuff up top unless it says important in big bold letters. Love me!**


	11. Chapter 11: Arrival

**I'm finished early! This chapter was surprisingly easy to write for some odd reason. Oh well, I'm sure none of you are complaining. Right now I am so close to getting 100 reviews it's driving me crazy! So, to both drum up some reviews and reward those who faithfully review and read my rants along the top and bottom here, I propose a reward. The 100th to the 105th reviewers can have the option of private messaging me and giving me a prompt/idea/situation that they would like to see happen for this story and I will do my best to write it. Those writings will be added to the companion of this story 'Underestimated' or if they really strike my muse they could be added to this story. So let the games begin, read and review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own scrap, or Transformers, but Megan is mine!**

* * *

"Talking"  
_'Thinking'_  
:Comm link:

* * *

"Megan, we will be approaching the base within the hour. You should wake up now if you wish to be alert."

What Megan really wanted to do was tell the mystery italian voice exactly where it could shove it's wake-up call, but then she remembered exactly who said italian voice belonged to. Megan groaned and cracked open her eyes, memories flooding back and reminding her exactly where she was and what was going on. Megan was amazed that her injuries could still feel worse even after twenty-four hours of receiving them. She sat up and looked out the windows, the sun had long dropped over the horizon as she realized she must have slept for hours.

_'And yet I'm still exhausted.'_ She moaned internally.

"We're almost at base?" She questioned quietly, all traces of sleep forgotten.

Megan really regretted falling asleep now, she had just spent their last few hours together sleeping. Had it really only been less than a week since she found him in Al's junkyard? It felt much longer.

"Yes. We should arrive soon."

They continued the last leg of their journey in silence, having nothing more to really say to each other. Megan adjusted her wildly standing hair and tried to make herself look somewhat presentable. She sat quietly staring at what she could see of the dusty, rocky landscape around them. The road was just a dusty path in the dirt, they were truly in the middle of nowhere Nevada. Megan supposed it was as good a place as any to be hiding twenty-foot tall giant alien robots. After some time a group of lights appeared in the distance, the closest one being at what looked like a guard station at the entrance of a tall barb-wire fence.

Several soldiers were standing at attention as they pulled closer, they had already seen them coming from a long ways off and had their guns pointed in their direction. Mirages engine growled at the meager threat but he still slowed and came to a stop several feet away from them. The soldiers moved at a silent command and flanked Mirage on both sides, all the while keeping their eyes and weapons on the vehicle in front of them. Megan could feel her heartbeat accelerate at the sight of so many weapons pointing in her direction and tried not to look nervous. She had Mirage to back her up after all, but still, it was a little scary.

_'This could get really bad really, really fast if we don't do this right.'_ She thought worriedly. Megan wasn't too surprised, after all these soldiers didn't know if they were friendly yet or not.

Mirage could feel Megan's heart rate accelerate in a fear response as he rumbled his engine warningly at the soldiers. Mirage knew he could easily take damage from the human soldier's guns with little more than a scratch, but these guns could easily harm or even kill his young companion. Megan could see a younger fellow hanging back on a handheld radio, talking feverishly into it while glancing at her and Mirage. She hoped that meant the Autobot's were on their way, that would hopefully make Mirage's introduction go a little smoother. The tallest soldier, with a grim expression, stepped forward and spoke in a voice that clearly said 'do as I say'. Mirage rolled down his window slightly so Megan could hear what the man was shouting.

"This is an active military base. You are not authorized to be in this space, leave now or we will use deadly force."

Mirage's engine growled at the clear threat but he was distracted by Megan unbuckling her seat-belt and tapping at his door.

"Mirage, you got to let me out. I have to explain to them who we are and you have to transform to show them you're an Autobot."

She was right, Mirage didn't like it, but reluctantly opened his door all the same. Megan raised her hands over her head in the universal peaceful gesture as the door swung open on its own and she moved to get out. The sound of numerous guns being cocked and readied to be fired rang through the air before her feet had even touched the ground. Even the guy who had demanded they drive away suddenly had a pistol in his hand. Megan froze for a moment, stiff with sudden fear while Mirage's engine snarled in response and his entire frame shuddered angrily. The leader guy spoke up again shouting even louder this time.

"Miss! Get back in your car and leave! This is your final warning."

Megan's tongue finally saw fit to unglue itself from the roof of her mouth. Having found her voice she had to shout over the sound of Mirage's growling engine to be heard. As she spoke she slowly stood, even as she readied herself to hit the dirt if necessary.

"Sir, you don't understand. I'm here because I know about the Autobot's. This car is in fact one of them if you'll just let him show you."

She was fully out of Mirage's alt-form now but still standing behind the door, she was still too close to Mirage to allow him to safely transform without hurting her. The guy in charge was just standing there, as if processing her words and trying to decide if she was lying to him or not. Megan backed away a little to give Mirage some space.

One of the soldiers, who either hadn't been listening or didn't care, must have somehow read her movement as a threat because a loud cracking sound split the air. Mirage, who had had his sensors trained on each soldier as Megan conversed with the one in charge, had seen the soldier twitch and transformed faster than even he knew he could. Before Megan's ears fully even registered the sound, the car beside her suddenly exploded into motion.

Megan curled into a ball, arms over her head, gasping for breath and wondering where the protective metal cage that surrounded her had come from. Megan checked herself over and listened carefully to what was going on outside. She couldn't find any new wounds, so it appeared that the bullet had missed. There was a lot of shouting coming from outside along with the sound of many loud engines approaching and coming to a screeching stop. A very loud and deep voice could be heard over all the others.

"STAND DOWN!" The voice boomed.

Megan tried to calm her frantically beating heart before cautiously tapping the steel wall. The metal hands surrounding her split and unfurled, letting in the light and a pair of familiar blue optics.

"Megan. Are you damaged?"

"N-no. I don't think so." Megan said shakily. She double checked in the light, but she did seem to be alright, only a little dusty from her roll in the dirt. She looked back up at him.

"You ok?"

"Yes, I am fine." He reassured her before turning his attention back to the approaching crowd of people and vehicles.

Mirage shifted letting Megan see her surroundings but stayed kneeling with one hand behind her. Megan blinked in the light, trying to make sense of what was going on around her. Dozens of more soldiers had and were driving up, guns in hand and trying to understand who the new bot was. Megan could see several military vehicles and a number of other cars including a massive flame painted Peterbilt driving up. A brown-haired, blue-eyed soldier jumped out of a large, roaring, black pick-up truck, his face like a thundercloud.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" The soldier yelled, the many patches on his uniform suggested he was in charge.

Megan decided it would be a good idea to stay off that guys bad side. Another soldier, a tall black man, walked up behind the angry guy and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Take it easy Will."

Will shrugged off the other guys hand but took his advice and seemed to calm down a little. He focused on the soldier that Megan had addressed what she and Mirage had pulled up.

"Officer Jacobs, front and center. Explain yourself."

Megan was distracted from whatever the officer was going to say by the unique sound of transforming metal. The Peterbilt split and stood and Megan's breath caught in her chest as the biggest cybertronian she had seen yet stood to his full height. She gaped at the thirty-five foot tall cybertronian in amazement. The tall, red and blue mech seemed to have an air of clam authority that commanded respect and Megan guess that it could only be Optimus. Megan found herself getting a strong sense of déjà vu as she spoke in little more than a whisper.

"Holy crap he's tall."

She could hear and feel Mirage's chuckle through the hand he had at her back. She looked up at Mirage and watched as he stood and moved away from her. Mirage brought a fist to his chest and nodded his helm at the taller bot is a respectful gesture.

"Optimus, it is good to see you at last. I trust my team made it to earth ahead of me with minimal damage?"

"Mirage. Your team arrived successfully almost an orn ago thanks to your courageous efforts. They have been worried about you. We were unaware you had even arrived on earth, though it is good to see you my friend."

Optimus crossed the distance between them and clapped a hand on Mirages shoulder. Mirage flinched as Optimus's hand connected with the same shoulder that Crankcase had stabbed not even a day ago. The bright yellow-green emergency search-and-rescue vehicle transformed and stood up with a shout that surprised Megan into jumping several feet back. This bot was shorter than Prime but taller than Mirage by a few feet, and Megan assumed from his vehicle form he was the Autobot medic.

"Easy Optimus! He's got some heavy damages there. You shouldn't be transforming too quickly let alone traveling with those injuries Mirage. I can't even get a clear scan with your spark cloak fully activated like that. Your systems must be draining at an accelerated rate. I'm surprised you haven't dropped from low energon levels yet." The yellow bot groused to Mirage while trying to examine the extent of the damage at the same time.

"I am fine Ratchet. I have important information that I must speak of before anything else."

"I'll be the judge of that." Ratchet growled.

"Can we move this conversation back to the base _before_ the whole Decepticon army decides to come and see what the commotion is?" The black pick-up growled.

"Very well Ironhide. Come, let us take this conversation to a more private location." Optimus said.

The bots proceeded to transform beck into their alt-forms and move out toward the base along with a majority of the soldiers. Mirage however hung back and seemed to observe Megan for a moment. He left his driver's side door open.

"Are you coming Megan?"

Megan smiled and moved to join Mirage, but was stopped when Will moved between them and addressed Mirage.

"Actually, it would be best if she came with us."

There was a distinct pause as Mirage hesitated before closing his door with a snap.

"Very well then."

Without another word or even what would have looked like a glance back at her. Megan watched as Mirages tail lights drove smoothly away, and tried her best to choke back the welling disappointment. After all what had she expected? She was only the means for him to find his leader from the very beginning after all. Now that he was home she wasn't needed anymore. Megan tried to force her thoughts and feelings away but instead they lingered, like a poison mist that refused to dissipate. To distract herself from the bitter feelings she turned her attention to the soldier called Will.

"So what now?" She asked.

Will raised an eyebrow at the young woman but decided she seemed friendly enough, if perhaps a little to the point.

"We'll take you to base and work from there. You could be here awhile though."

"Well then the quicker we get moving the sooner I can be on my way." Megan said crisply.

Epps and Will shared a look but led her over to one of the waiting military vehicles all the same. Megan warily watched the group of soldiers that had been the ones who had guarded the gate, and who had shot at her. She quickly jumped into the back seat and closed the door behind her. Will seemed to notice her caution around officer Jacobs and his men and tried to reassure her.

"Don't worry they won't bother you again. They're new to base and still skittish as rabbits around the big guys. They weren't following protocol and certainly shouldn't have fired a weapon at you. They'll be on kitchen and monitor duty for a long time for this one."

Megan muttered something about men and being trigger happy idiots. Epps heard what she said and roared a laugh from the passenger seat as Will started up the engine.

"You ain't so bad kid. You got a name?" Epps asked.

"My name is Megan Valerie Pully, not kid. Who are you?"

"Name's Robert, but call me Epps, and this is Will." Epps punched Will in the shoulder for his introduction.

"That's _Major_ Will to you." Will said with a mock glare at Epps. Megan couldn't help but give a small grin at the friendly banter between the two.

"So how did you meet the new bot?" Will asked with a quick glance in the rear-view mirror at Megan. Megan really didn't want to talk about Mirage, but she supposed she would just have to get over the hurt. She shrugged at the question.

"His name is Mirage, and it's a bit of a long story."

"Well we'll have plenty of time for you to tell us that story in just a bit." Will yawned, reminding Megan that it was very late at night to be having so much excitement.

They pulled up to what looked like the main hangar, which obviously had been modified to accommodate tall cybertronians. Megan hopped out of the car and was almost instantly flanked by Will and Epps, who lead the way into the massive hanger. As they walked she wondered if the place was always this busy at midnight or if was only so because of her and Mirage's arrival.

Soldiers and technicians moved back and forth doing their jobs with effortless efficiency, not even bothering to give Megan more than a second glance. Megan had to hurry to not be left behind by the brisk pace that Will set. They went down a human sized corridor and soon stopped at a sturdy black door, which Will opened for her. Megan looked at the room before going in and shot a look at Will. He only shrugged in response.

"It's more comfortable than the brigs we got, and besides, you aren't a prisoner here. So really we're just keeping you here until we find time to get your side of the story. We shouldn't be long."

_'Ya right.'_ Megan scoffed in her head, but still she only sighed and entered the interrogation room.

The room was well-lit and all pale white with only a plain table and a pair of chairs within. The bright light revealed a fine layer of dust over everything and showed that the room wasn't used very often. A standard one way mirror decorated one wall, in which she regarded her scruffy, pale appearance for a moment. Megan really didn't feel comfortable, she was way out of her depth and far from any comfort zone she had ever known. Will gave her an apologetic smile as he closed the door and locked it behind him, leaving Megan alone and feeling more than a little trapped.

Megan forced herself to take deep breaths and remind herself that she wouldn't be there for long. A few hours tops, or maybe a day or two at most. The thought really didn't do much to make her feel any better. At least she had been allowed to keep her bag and things. So she sat down at the table and put her head down. She hoped that maybe a little nap would make the stinging feeling that had settled in her chest since Mirage had driven away fade a little. Or at the very least, make it easier to ignore.

* * *

Elsewhere in the base Mirage was leaning against a berth with his arms crossed over his chassis. He tapped a ped as he impatiently waited for Ratchet to see fit to release him from the med bay. The med bay was a little on the small side and had few resources due to a lack of funding, but had the basic essentials for repairs. Though it was sparsely decorated it was still better then what Ratchet normally had to work with. The medic had insisted on first bringing the spy in for a thorough check-up and minor repairs before letting him anywhere near a debriefing room. Ratchet entered the med bay muttering and grumbling over a data pad exactly as Mirage remembered him.

"Fragging useless human tech. Can't even make a decent string of code that isn't written in such a primitive way to make it completely useless."

Ratchet tossed the data pad down on the other berth with a derisive snort before turning his attention to Mirage. Mirage was suddenly very wary of the way the CMO was regarding him with narrowed optics.

"_Well_? Do I have to knock you over the helm myself to get you onto the berth, or are you going to cooperate?"

Mirage instantly hauled his aft onto the berth he had been leaning against in the most dignified way he could. Ratchet wasted no time and began to inspect the most recent damage, particularly his damaged shoulder strut and door wing. Ratchet growled as he scanned the damage and made an inventory of the supplies and tools he would need.

"Did you purposely run your shoulder into a blade or was it just a happy accident?" Ratchet complained, Mirage answered with a roll of his optics.

"Crankcase and his lackeys tracked us down. They had captured me and would have had me offlined in a spark beat if it had not been for Megan."

Ratchet didn't miss the note of what could have been called pride in Mirages voice, though for once it wasn't pride at an accomplishment of his own.

"Megan, isn't that the designation of the human femme you were traveling with? How could she have fought off three mechs?"

"I think I shall wait until the debriefing. I would not want to have to repeat myself and it is unlikely you will believe me at any rate. I still hardly believe it myself." Mirage made an electronic sound of disbelief but the smile tugging at the corners of his faceplates softened the words.

Of course none of this escaped Ratchets keen optics, even as he repaired what damage he could to Mirage's frame. Ratchet moved on to inspect the damage that Mirage had received before arriving on earth.

"Slag! You just had to get hit in your specialized secondary systems core didn't you?"

"Is that going to be a problem?" Mirage asked. Ratchet sighed at the question and moved to sort through his supplies on his work table.

"Repairing your communication systems and making it so you can deactivate your spark cloak won't be a problem. It's your invisibility cloaking system and holo-emitter that's going to be a pain in the aft. They need to be completely replaced and I haven't got the equipment to make such specialized equipment."

"How long could it take to fix or replace them?"

"It's hard to say."

"Ratchet. How long?"

The CMO hesitated before reluctantly answering in a gruff voice.

"It could take years for humans to come up with the tech we would need to do even a patch job on these systems. If Wheeljack or Preceptor were here it would be different, but the truth of the matter remains that you'll have to go without them for a while."

Mirage gritted his dental plates but said nothing. He didn't need to because the waves of frustration were almost visibly coming off his frame. Ratchet finished his inspection, satisfied that Mirage wasn't about to drop dead within the next solar cycle before he could do all the repairs that needed to be done.

"Alright, just one more thing to check. Come on now, lets see your spark."

Mirage hesitated for as long as it took for Ratchet to lose his patience and whip a wrench out of subspace to threaten him with it.

"Come on now ya sparkling. Don't make me use this 'cause we both know I'll still get the same results in the end if you cooperate or not."

Mirage rolled his optics and reluctantly opened his chest plates just enough to reveal his spark. Ratchet immediately set to work scanning and doing the normal routine checks. What he found both did and didn't surprise him.

"Have you noticed any unusual reactions from your spark lately? Any aches or pains?"

"No, none." Mirage muttered in his usual bored tone.

"Some of the cracks ran deep from the damage Crankcase did to your shoulder strut. Nothing threatening, fortunately, but it would be in our best interest to seal the damage running along your inner frame as soon as possible. Are you sure you haven't been experiencing any spark activity?"

"Yes Ratchet. I think I would know if I was having a spark attack." Mirage said sarcastically.

Ratchet looked up from his work with a glare.

"That's not what I mean Mirage. What I'm trying to say is that you're showing signs of a developing Guardian bond."

Ratchet took a cautious step back as Mirage froze. Mirage quickly snapped out of it and scowled at the medic, Ratchet of course hardly being effected by the scathing look.

"That is not possible Ratchet. You know as well as I that my Guardian programming was disabled and buried under other systems and subroutines back at the beginning of the war."

"Of course I know that, I was the one to do it after all, but that doesn't change the reality of what is happening now. The bond is there and growing stronger Mirage. It is most likely the bond is between yourself and Megan."

Mirage surged to his feet, closing his spark casing and firmly folding his chest plates back into place over it and crossing his arms.

"That is not possible! She is a human."

Ratchet interrupted him before Mirage said something that would make Ratchet lose his precarious temper.

"How it happens is unclear at this time, but yours is not the only human-cybertronian bond Mirage. The longer we're on earth the more I'm beginning to think that such bonds are in fact a natural occurrence. Bumblebee was the first to discover this kind of bond with his charge Sam. Ironhide was next, and his spark seems to even be extending itself to include the wife and child of his charge. The bonds are stable and much like our own cybertronian Guardian bonds."

Ratchet was now speaking like Wheeljack when he found a new explosive element, seemingly unaware how Mirage was only half-listening.

"The only major differences is that because the humans have a different spark then our own, the bonds only share strong emotions and give a general sense if the other is in danger. The other main difference is that these bonds aren't instantaneous like a cybertronian bond, instead they _grow_ over time. How quickly the bond forms seems to differ, as they sometimes seem to happen almost overnight while others take longer. I'm currently trying to find out why sparks extend only to certain humans. It's really quite interesting work."

Now that Mirage knew that the bond was there he could vaguely feel it, a tiny reaching of his spark. It was a familiar feeling and one that brought bad memories with it. Mirage tried not to think too deeply on what this bond could mean. Mirage could feel his tanks sink with dread but remained outwardly emotionless.

"How far along is this 'bond'?" Mirage asked in an empty voice.

"Your's is a slow-growing bond but it's about half-formed right now. It's not developed enough for you to share emotions but it's developed enough you should begin to get a kind of 'sixth sense' for if the other half of the bond is in danger. However it is still growing, so I should imagine you should explain bonds to Megan and let her know what this could-"

"No." Mirage interrupted the medic, his mind made up.

Ratchet gave Mirage a surprised look, not entirely understanding what Mirage was saying.

"No? I should think she should know about-"

"I do not want her to know about this because I am not keeping it Ratchet. I do not want this bond, I want it gone."

Ratchet's expression became stormy and he spoke in a dangerously calm professional manner.

"You want it gone." It wasn't a question.

"Yes. I do not care what you have to do Ratchet. I want the bond gone and my Guardian programming disabled again."

Ratchet's optics paled with anger at the mere idea of destroying a developing Guardian bond, one of the most cherished of cybertronian ties. However, there was more to Mirage's decision then met the eye, and Ratchet knew why Mirage feared forming such a bond again. Ratchet managed to speak without raising his voice.

"You would break a Guardian bond before it even has a chance to fully develop? What about your charge? What about Megan? Does she get a say in this?" Mirage flinched at the mention of Megan's name but continued to look Ratchet in the optics. He refused to back down from this.

"The girl will be better off without ever knowing of the bond. She will not miss what she never had. As you said the bond has not fully formed, so it is unlikely she is even aware of it. The repercussions of breaking it will be mine alone."

"You're a fragging fool if you think that a bond breaking would only effect you." Ratchet scoffed. Mirage didn't react.

Ratchet regarded the spy's stiffly held door wings and overall stubborn posture and knew he wouldn't be able to drive some sense into the bot at this time. Ratchet could see that he was too dead set against having the bond, to fearful of what losing it would do to his spark to give it a chance. Mirage was already trying to distance himself from Megan by not mentioning her name. Ratchet sighed.

"Fine then, but I don't know what kind of stress doing this will do to your spark Mirage. We're still learning about these kinds of bonds and exactly what they are and aren't capable of. I'm going to need to do a few tests and meet the girl before I know specifically what it is we're dealing with."

"You mentioned that the bond grows stronger with time, Ratchet. I do not wish for it to develop any further then it already has."

"Then block it for Primus' sake, that will stunt the bond's growth until I know what we are dealing with. Go get some energon. I'll have the supplies to finish the rest of your repairs and fix your communications systems tomorrow at noon, so until then get out." Ratchet snarled, finally losing his patience with the unfortunate situation.

Mirage stood and left swiftly to find Prime and be debriefed, seemingly undisturbed by the sudden revelation of his Guardian bond. Ratchet cursed as the door shut, venting his spleen at the whole situation by angrily reorganizing his tools.

"Stupid, half-aft, slag for a processor, spy. Can't even let his spark give half a watt about someone other than himself. Dumb, cross wired, fragger." The rant went on for several minutes, with many choice curse words uttered in both English and cybertronian.

Finally Ratchet set aside his reorganized tools and tried to think logically on the situation. The bonds formed with humans were just as permanent and binding as a bond to another cybertronian. Once a bond, any bond, was formed there was little that could done about it, and generally the parties involved didn't want anything done about it. Back on Cybertron before the war, Guardian bonds were formed when two sparks resonated with each other, forming the bond almost instantly. The Guardian-Charge bond was similar to a Sibling bond in nature, and very hard to break without causing potentially fatal spark pain.

Breaking a spark bond was painful, and Ratchet had seen all too many mech's offline from the pain of a broken bond. Most of those bonds had broken because of loved ones joining the Matrix, but as more chose sides in the war, purposely broken bonds became more common. Mech's would purposely cut the ties to their sparks to hurt the other half, where before to do such a thing would have been unthinkable. Now with Human-Cybertronian bonds Mirage wanted to break a bond before it had even formed. The major problem with that was you couldn't break a bond that wasn't yet there.

The only course of action was to either let the bond form enough to be broken, or cut off it's growth by disabling the Guardian programming which was already a painful process. Ratchet wasn't sure it was possible to disable Mirage's Guardian programming with a bond already half-formed. He was even less sure if Mirage's spark would be able to handle the stress of another spark breaking. Then there was the question of how a spark breaking could affect a human.

"There's just so much we don't yet know about these bonds." Ratchet cursed.

If Mirage didn't change his mind about the Guardian bond, Ratchet feared he wouldn't have much choice but to find out how a bond breaking effected a human.

* * *

Despite how calm Mirage looked on the outside, his cooling fans were straining to their maximum as his systems tried to cool his CPU. He mechanically made his way along the hallway towards the debriefing room, using only a minimum of his circuits to pay attention to where he was going and avoid stepping on any humans. Mirage was processing several thoughts at once and not a one of them stuck around to be finished. He was confused and frustrated from Ratchets revelation of the guardian bond. Only one thought remained clear.

_'How did this happen? Why didn't I notice it sooner, I could have stopped it! This shouldn't be happening.'_

Mirage's musings were interrupted when something slammed into him from behind and wrapped it's arms around him. Mirage's systems automatically interpreted whatever it was to be a threat and with surprising swiftness he broke from the loose hold, turned and swept the threat off it's peds with one sweeping motion. The mech fell with an 'oof' and a deafening metal clang, a few of the closer humans jumped and stared in shock but fortunately none of them had been close enough to be in danger. It took a click for Mirage to calm his circuits and recognize just who the 'threat' had been.

"Hound?" Mirage questioned. Hound looked up from the floor with a sheepish grin, rubbing his newly dented helm.

"Well that's one heck of a way t' say hello. Nice to see you to Mirage." Hound chuckled in good humour.

Mirage rolled his optics and offered his friend a servo up. The slightly shorter, dark green bot firmly grasped the offered servo and got back to his peds. Once standing he clapped a servo to Mirage's newly repaired shoulder.

"You fragger! We thought we'd lost you for sure when we couldn't reach you on the team's long-range comm after an orn of radio silence. But you made it in more or less one piece, and with a human friend I've heard."

Mirage's servos clenched at his sides at the reminder of Megan, but forced them to relax so as to not alert Hound to his discomfort.

"I apologize for any undue concern I caused. My comm system was damaged in the Decepticon ambush. We should make our way to the debriefing room, there I will make my official report."

"Sure thing. The others are probably already there, oh and here. I grabbed an energon cube for ya." Hound took a brightly glowing blue cube from subspace and passed it to Mirage as they navigated their way down the hallways. Remembering Ratchet's warning to get some energon Mirage took a few slow sips, not looking to get overcharged by downing it too quickly just before a debriefing.

Their entrance into the debriefing room was greeted by the chattering silver blur that was Bluestreak. Mirage could see that Bumblebee was absent but Ironhide, Jazz, Prowl, and Optimus were already within and conversing among themselves. Mirage surmised that Ratchet had opted to stay in his med bay, and would be debriefed later before turning his attention to the others in the room. Several humans were in a group on a raised catwalk along one wall, among them was Major Will and Sergeant Epps. Mirage turned his attention to what Bluestreak was saying, but had already missed the first half of the one-sided conversation.

"-And it was so cool. Isn't that a funny saying human saying? Why do they refer to the atmospheric temperature when something is pleasing? I thought humans don't like to be cold. I know I don't 'cause that would make my hydraulic lines freeze and then I wouldn't be able to move. And if I couldn't move I couldn't race! Speaking of racing-"

"Bluestreak." Optimus kindly interrupted the young gunner, who immediately shut up.

Other conversations ceased and everyone subtly shifted to circle around the cybertronian sized table at the center of the room. One side was left empty so the humans on the cat walk could be included in the conversation. Optimus took his place at the head of the table, Mirage taking the side opposite his leader with Hound flanking him from behind, always the faithful friend. Optimus took a moment to be sure that he had everyone's attention, but before he could even open his mouth to open the debriefing session the doors whisked open interrupting him.

Mirage turned to view the human that marched imperiously across the floor with several files and a briefcase in hand. Mirage could hear several disgruntled mutters coming from the human's and even Ironhide didn't seemed pleased to see this human. The human was young, dressed in a crisp black suit with dark slicked back hair, and seemed to be completely uncaring that he had just rudely interrupted. The human offered no apology and made his way to the catwalk, his every step watched by the assembled bots and soldiers. Optimus addressed the human as he took a seat and arranged his folders.

"Assistant Daniel Hops, we are glad you could join us. I take it Director Galloway will not be joining us?" Mirage almost thought that for a moment he detected a hint of dislike in Optimus's voice at the mention of this Galloway, but dismissed it for an over reactive simulator. Optimus was the most patient mech Mirage had ever known, and it was near impossible to annoy him. However, the way the human spoke had even Mirage's armor bristling, and he heard several engines rev with annoyance at the tone directed at their leader.

"That is_ Executive_ Assistant Daniel Hops to you, and yes. The esteemed Director Galloway is previously engaged with another matter of utmost importance and sent me in his stead. Now that I have arrived we can begin without haste."

Several mutters, and even a few sighs of relief that the Director wouldn't be joining them, circled around the room before Optimus caught their attention again with a human cough.

"Very well then. Mirage, we would like for you to begin. We are aware that you have been missing for just over twelve earth days, separated from your team by unfortunate circumstances. You have also mentioned that you have uncovered potentially vital information on Decepticon activities. Please begin your report from the time you separated from your team and include as many details as you can."

Mirage knew that he would likely be speaking for hours so he took a moment to cycle his vents before beginning. He was actually thankful for this, as he focused on making his report the thoughts of the Guardian bond were pushed from his processor.

"My team and I were ambushed just beyond the planet Saturn by five Decepticon assailants, and it was agreed that I would be the wisest choice for a diversion."

* * *

Megan hadn't been alone for long in the dusty interrogation room, likely little more than an hour, when the door opened. Megan looked up, expecting to see Major will or even Epps, but was surprised to see a stuffy forty-year old man in a black suit walk in. The man had a receding hairline of mousey hair and round framed glasses that his cold gray eyes openly glared out from. The suited man wasn't alone, he had two armed soldiers with him, one of whom stood at attention at the door while the other proceeded to grab Megan's backpack from where it lay beside her.

"Hey! That's my stuff!" Megan made as if to stand up and reach for her things but was forced to either sit back down or fall over when the soldier shoved her.

Megan landed hard in her seat and said nothing else as the soldier tossed her bag into the hall through the open door. She was then lifted by her arms and patted down, the soldier taking her ipod, wallet, and her inhaler as the suited man looked on. The soldier pushed her back into her seat, took her things and left, leaving just the one soldier by the door and the suited man behind. Megan said not a word as she and the suited man regarded each other, the silence was oppressive and after only a few second Megan couldn't take it.

"Who are you?" She asked suspiciously, Megan was getting a very strong impression that this man was seven different flavors of jerk wrapped up in one. The man gave a small smile that didn't reach his eyes and remained standing.

"I am Director Galloway, National Security Advisor to the president of the United States and official Liaison to the NBE's of NEST." Megan could tell just by the way this Galloway guy spoke that he was stuck up, and likely had his head up somewhere the sun doesn't shine. A tiny part of Megan was looking forward to pushing this guys buttons, the egotistical ones were always fun to mess with.

"NBE? NEST?" Megan decided to play the dumb and gullible card for the moment, see where that got her.

"Non-biological Extraterrestrials, and Non-biological Extraterrestrial Species Treaty. Try to keep up with the acronyms."

Galloway took a file that had been tucked under his arm and slapped it down on the table, sending a cloud of fine dust into Megan's face. Megan coughed a few times and tried not to breath to deeply, she really didn't want to have another asthma attack so soon after the last one. Especially since this guy took her inhaler. Megan glared up into the cold gray eyes that watched her every move.

"So Miss Pully, why don't you tell me all you know about alien robots?"

_'Oh ya. This guy is definitely an A-hole.' _

* * *

**So does this still count as a cliff-hanger? Some of you have expressed displeasure about my tendency to leave you hanging. I swear I don't do it on purpose, it just happens! (Naw, I'm lying I totally do it like this cuz I'm just evil like that) So their arrival at base was a little less then smooth. Gotta love trigger happy soldiers right? Mirage and Megan have a guardian bond and Raj' doesn't want it. Will Megan find out? And what will she think? Why is Raj' so against it? Meanwhile, Megan's about to have a chat with Galloway and I don't think Major Lennox knows about that. What's going to happen there? Remember to review for the reward mentioned up top! Review twice if you must even if it's only for the reward I don't mind! Roll out and review!**


	12. Chapter 12: Breath

**Man this one was hard to write. I still don't really like it too much, but I don't know what else to do with it. Maybe you guys can tell me if it's junk or not. What you like and what you think could use adjusting 'cause I've been staring at this so long I can't deal with it no more. So here you go. On another note I LOVE all the reviews I got last chapter! T.T thank you all so much! Lotta' Galloway haters out there, and lots of love for Megan. The winners who have the option of sending me a prompt are; (drum roll) Topkicker26, linguisticRenegade, Autobot Phoenix, Answerthecall, and darkpoisonivy. CONGRATULATIONS! (confetti rains from the sky) I've already heard from some of you but not others, so if you have a prompt for this story send it my way in a PM. Ok so less talking and more reading and reviewing, here you go.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own scrap, or Transformers. But the plot and Megan are MINE!**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

:Comm link:

* * *

Crankcase had split his forces. He had sent Crowbar and Hatchet after the Decepticon deserter, making sure they knew that he would not tolerate their failure. If they failed to capture the Barricade they would be facing a harsh punishment. Crankcase himself was presently formulating a plan of action. The past day he had strained his circuits scanning traffic cams over a hundred miles, to no avail. He had no way of knowing where Mirage and his little pet had disappeared to, and it was likely they had already made it to the Autobot base. He knew from experience that Mirage had very few weaknesses, so finding one to exploit was difficult.

However, if Mirage was attached to the flesh-bag, then finding Mirage's location was as simple as finding where the human was. Crankcase's musings were interrupted when a hail from Soundwave sounded over his comm link. With a frustrated snarl Crankcase answered.

:What?:

:Crankcase; status report.:

Crankcase cursed Soundwave to the pit before answering.

:Autobot spy Mirage escaped after we managed to capture him with the help of a human, and the Decepticon deserter Barricade.: A few moments of silence followed his report.

:Mission; failure. Orders; return to base for disciplinary action.:

Crankcase snarled again and flexed his claws, one scar was enough. He wasn't leaving this pathetic mud ball of a planet until he had killed Mirage, but it would be best if he didn't have to be labelled a deserter to do it. Crankcase quickly came up with a feasible reason to stay on earth.

:Ah, but isn't it tactically more logical for us to retain our position?: Soundwave didn't immediately reply, and Crankcase got the impression that he was conversing with someone. Megatron or Starscream were the likely suspects.

:Reasoning; explain.: Soundwave commanded, and if Crankcase didn't know better he might have sounded curious.

:We don't know how much information the Autobots know about our plans to attack. Mirage no doubt told them all he knows. I doubt that we can attack sooner then the already projected timeframe and before the Autobots can set up some proper defences. So to keep on schedule it would be to our advantage to have some ground troops onsite, to keep the Autoscum occupied and sabotage any efforts at defence.:

Soundwave gave no indication of a reply, but instead there was that distinct pause where Crankcase was sure he was relaying his reasoning to someone else. Crankcase wondered which mech he was speaking to. Megatron had been acting strangely since his revival with the Allspark shard, still violent and cruel but he no longer reacted when Starscream was the one giving orders. No mech dared to comment on Megatron's strange behaviour, but it did unsettle many of them. Crankcase brought his attention back to the commlink as Soundwave replied.

:Reasoning is sound. New orders; maintain position and sabotage Autobot defences at the planned site of engagement.:

:Orders received.:

Without even a warning Crankcase rudely cut the comm link and returned to his thoughts. He hacked into the human internet and looked for anything that could give him an indication as to the identity of the human Mirage was traveling with. Within a few hours and a few simple hacks past some ridiculously weak human firewalls Crankcase had managed to use some face recognition software to identify Mirage's human. She had a highly unused social networking site that was useless to him, but it gave him a designation to direct his search for information.

He compiled any and all data he could find on the flesh-bag and what he found intrigued him. A news report from two years ago about an accident the femme was involved in and another human mech. Out of curiosity Crankcase did a small search on this mech, and a vicious smile bared his fangs. There was an order for this mech's arrest, and he was also looking for Mirage's human. Crankcase quickly came to a decision.

The Autobots would no doubt protect the girl should they even suspect he was after her to get at Mirage. Tracking the girl would be near to impossible, Crankcase only knew that she was loyal to Mirage, he couldn't accurately predict her movements. However, this human male Felix, apparently had a history with her, was already looking for her and likely already knew where to look. This human would be much more easily tracked without Autobot interference, and lead him to Mirage's human without even knowing it.

Within minutes Crankcase had all the information he needed on the human designated Felix, and knew he had just drawn money out of a discreet offshore account in a state to the southeast. All he had to do was find this human, and it would lead him to Mirage's human. Crankcase changed into his alt-mode and made his way from the disgusting organic woods, he couldn't help but revel in the thrill of the hunt. After almost a millennium of longing to see Mirage dead at his feet, he could wait a while longer to find the human femme. That girl would die, and that weakness would be Mirage's downfall. He would make sure of it.

* * *

It took Mirage hours to report all that had happened to him in the few days that he had been separated from his comrades. They were all concerned by the Decepticons plans to make a large assault on earth, for a number of obvious reasons. They only knew the approximate time frame that the attack would be coming in and even with human help they were likely outnumbered. There was also the problem that the Decepticons were using their superior numbers and position on one of the further planets of this solar system to kill any incoming Autobots.

"Perhaps we should disable the signal. Our allies are walking into a Decepticon trap by following the signal I am sending into space." Optimus spoke gravely, an undercurrent of regret in his voice.

"No, that would be detrimental to our cause, Optimus. If we suddenly disable the signal our allies will assume the worst and either try to rush to our aid or flee too far to help should we require it." Prowl spoke calmly.

"Then what ah we goin' t' do? 'Cause as it is th' signal's just leadin' 'em t' the slaughter." Jazz crossed his arms and spoke irritably, obviously frustrated at the Decepticons underhanded tactics.

Prowls optics dimmed momentarily while the tactician consulted his advanced logic circuits. After a momentary pause his optics regained their former brightness.

"It is logical to assume that with Decepticon forces gathering Soundwave has joined the ranks to keep them in line. Even with Autobot coding in the signal it wouldn't be difficult for him to bypass the codes and know what the signal contains. I calculate a 87% chance that he will not expect an additional, disguised signal being added to 'piggyback' the first signal and warn our allies not to enter the solar system. However there is something that still does not make complete sense."

"What now?" Ironhide grumbled. Prowl ignored Ironhide's tone and continued on.

"Even with a larger force to provide for, the copious amounts of energon they are stealing are enormous. We can only assume they are using it to create something, but we have no way of knowing what." The words were met with a grim silence. It was never a good thing not knowing what the Decepticons had up their subspace pockets.

It was agreed that Optimus would add the necessary code once the debriefing was concluded. Mirage continued, telling them how he arrived on earth and met Megan. Mirage kept details on the girl at a minimum, as even the smallest mentions of her were making him increasingly aware of her absence. So as Mirage spoke he worked to block the bond, putting up strong walls around his spark cutting it off until he couldn't even feel it anymore.

Mirage told them of how he had outrun his first encounter with the Decepticon's and his unorthodox introduction to Megan. Optimus and Prowl noted how had Mirage's spark cloak not been so heavily activated they would have found him sooner. Ironhide lamented the opportunity lost to use his cannons, while Jazz merely barked a laugh at how Megan reacted to finding out just what and who Mirage was. Bluestreak prattled on about something until a stern look from Prowl had him mute his vocalizer.

Mirage continued his report with as many details as he could, but refrained from making any mention of the things he had learned about Megan. He also didn't mention any of the more sensitive moments the girl had. He told them of how the Dreads had managed to track his location through Megan's phone and his decision to leave the girl, Optimus appeared disapproving but understanding. Prowl nodded his helm, the fact the two Dread subordinates had entered atmosphere without raising an alert at base, confirmed that Soundwave was among the massing Decepticon forces.

As he told them in few words of how he was captured and dragged into the woods, Mirage could feel Hound tense behind him. Even though he was obviously in front of them and well, the atmosphere in the room tensed as he told them of Barricade entering the clearing with Megan. The tension dissolved into numb shock and amazement as he told them how Megan had staged his rescue. The silence was broken by a loud laugh from Epps.

"Ha! I had a feeling that girl had guts but damn! Taking on three Decepticons with no weapon and Barricade to back her up? That girl must have nerves of steel!" Lennox rolled his eyes at his friend, but the smile on his face said that he agreed with him.

"It sounds like a reckless and nearly suicidal plan. Foolishness should not be mistaken for bravery." Prowl ground out of his vocal processor.

"There's ah difference?" Jazz chuckled, equally amused and impressed with the little femme Mirage had found, and he hadn't even met her yet. Optimus silenced the pair of mech's with an amused look before bringing his attention back to Mirage.

"I trust the girl wasn't harmed in the encounter?" He asked.

"Not as far as I could tell. I do not have internal scanning programming, and little knowledge of organic functions. She became highly aggravated when I scanned her and claimed she was fine." Mirage said.

"What we should be asking is what kind of Decepticon trick was Barricade trying to pull? I for one don't believe he's defected. Once a Decepticon, always a Decepticon. We should find the fragger and let me put a hole the size of Cybertron in his aft." Ironhide said with a whirl of his cannons.

"Easy Ironhide. Barricade will not be found until he wants to be. His experience as a tracker makes him difficult to locate, he knows how to hide his trail. I believe he is no threat to us right now. He is too busy keeping off Decepticon radar without having to avoid Autobots as well." Optimus said, Ironhide growled but put his cannons away all the same.

The last bit of Mirage's report was quick and concluded when Prime had pulled up at the guard station. Mirage was pleased to find that he could no longer feel the bond through the block, but he couldn't seem to shake the feeling that Megan should be there with him. The absence of her constant presence grated on his CPU and annoyed him at the same time. Though he didn't let it show.

"We are glad you found your way back to us Mirage. Though you had a difficult journey it is good that you had help." Mirage acknowledged Prime's words with a nod of his helm, but he could stop himself from asking.

"What will happen to Megan now that she knows of our presence here? There may still be a threat to her from the Dreads."

Eyes turned to look at Lennox, and the human stood and addressed Mirage.

"As the highest ranked on base I'm more or less in charge of who has clearance on base, with a few exceptions. Once this meeting is finished I'll be personally assessing how much she knows about you guys, and from there she will be given the option of staying here for her protection in exchange for her silence. Of course if she refuses to stay here she'll be given the option of leaving, we don't make it a habit to keep civilians against their will. She can't ever tell anyone about you guys, but I don't think we need to worry about that, she seems like a good kid."

Daniel Hops, the Executive Assistant to Director Galloway, snorted and stood.

"Just because someone 'seems like a good kid' does not make them entitled to know classified military secrets, _Major _Lennox. Not to mention a military base is no place for a civilian."

"I would say the same thing about donkeys in suits." Epps muttered under his breath. With all the advanced hearing in the room, it would seem like everyone heard him except for the one suit in the room. Jazz was having a hard time smothering the grin on his faceplates, and even Optimus had an amused look in his eye. Lennox dug his elbow into Epp's side before confronting the executive.

"That may be so, _Assistant_ Hops, but the fact remains she has Decepticons after her and knows about both our friends here, and the location of our base. The safest place in the world for her is right here, where we can protect her."

Daniel snorted but backed down and took his seat again. Optimus took control of the meeting again with a nod from Lennox.

"There is much that has changed since we last saw you Mirage. We will now debrief you on those changes and inform you of the situation on earth at this time."

Optimus and the rest proceeded to inform him of all that had happened since their own arrival on earth. The human soldiers on the catwalk occasionally adding details and other important information. Mirage listened attentively as they told of how they arrived on earth and met with Sam, Bumblebee's charge. The struggle for the glasses with the location of the Allspark inscribed into them, and the human's own involvement. However Mirage their obvious hesitance as they began telling of the battle in Mission City. Finally Optimus sighed and came right out and said what they all had been dancing around.

"Mirage, I'm afraid to say that the Allspark was destroyed. We will not be returning to Cybertron."

* * *

Meanwhile Megan's conversation with Galloway was starting to get on her nerves. Not that she was letting her aggravation show, that would only undo all her hard work of the past few hours winding the irritating twit up. Megan had been purposely sidestepping and making dumb comments to his questions for the past few hours. Galloway was amusingly reactive to this treatment as she gave him the run-around, but as he persistently asked her the same questions over and over again the amusement lessened some. She was currently trying to see how long it took for him to change colors.

"How did you meet the NBE?"

"His name is Mirage, and I met him when he needed directions to Albuquerque."

Galloway didn't react, but his breathing became a little harsher.

"How big were the aliens?"

"Taller then you but they weigh less then your mom."

Galloway's eye twitched.

"What did they want?"

"They wanted to know the meaning to life. I told them it was forty-two."

And there it was, Galloway turned a light shade of puce as he began to pace back and forth. The man had yet to take a seat in the other dusty chair. Megan suspected it was because he both too worked up to sit, and that he didn't want to crinkle his suit. Megan really wished he wouldn't pace, because all it did was stir up the clouds of dust in the small, enclosed room. Megan coughed discreetly into her elbow and tried not to breath, she could almost feel the incoming asthma attack. She noticed Galloway look at his watch, for the fifth time in the past fifteen minutes, before turning to question her again.

"What did their weapons look like?"

Megan couldn't help but roll her eyes at the most common question he had. The guy seemed to have an unhealthy obsession with the bot's tech, especially their weapons technology. She gave him the same answer as last time.

"I don't know. I was a little too busy dodging and dropping a tree on the head of the one who did shoot at me."

To anyone who didn't know the story it sounded like all the other nonsense she had been spouting, but he didn't know that. Galloway seemed to finally lose what little patience he had as he lean forward to get in her face. Megan didn't react and only narrowed her eyes at him. Did he really think she would be scared of him after confronting Decepticons?

"Listen here _little girl_, your not doing yourself any favors by being difficult, so you better start giving me some straight answers." Galloway spoke in a stern voice obviously meant to intimidate her.

"Or what? Your going to threaten my family? Sorry to say but that won't work." Megan couldn't keep the bitter note from her voice.

Galloway's look turned sharp and cold as he leaned back, and at last opened the file that he had slapped down in front of her hours ago.

"No, it won't will it? I know all about that incident from your file."

Megan looked sharply up at him, all silent humor at Galloway's expense gone. Galloway seemed to notice this as his gaze turned smugly triumphant, and his face became slightly predatory. Megan's hands clenched into fists under the table.

_'If he knows about the incident, does he know about _that_?'_ Megan's thoughts were interrupted when Galloway spoke.

"So with a lack of family to make you behave, we can just skip right to the part of locking you away for the rest of your life." Both the tone he was using and the look he was giving her, as he flipped through her file, told her that Galloway indeed did know about _that_.

Megan didn't even breath as she gave Galloway a look that could have peeled paint at close range. Unfortunately Galloway must be immune to deadly looks because how often he was exposed to them, because he didn't even flinch at Megan's. She could feel her blood boil, and her hands tingled to smack the smug look off his face.

"You can't do that." She all but hissed through clenched teeth. Galloway gave a toothy smile.

"Actually, as National Secretary Adviser to the president, if I see you as a threat to the security of this operation I can do just that." He looked like he would enjoy it too. Megan's fragile temper snapped and she stood while slamming her hands on the table. The soldier who had been previously doing a good impression of a wall stepped forward to push her back in her chair.

"Why don't you kiss my a-" Megan had to cut off what he could kiss because she had inhaled a lungful of dust when she had slammed her hands on the table. Her violent coughing had her back in her seat and struggling for breath before the soldier had to push her back down. Galloway seemed unconcerned and resumed his pacing, seemingly unaware he was stirring up even more dust.

"Better not be contagious." The man muttered while looking at his watch again. Megan continued to cough as her breathing became more labored, she needed her inhaler. Spending hours in a dusty room was finally sending her into a reaction. Despite this she saw Galloway's look at his watch and realized why he was doing it so much.

_'He's on some kind of deadline. Trying to get information before someone shows up?'_

Megan managed to get his attention while clearing her throat.

"Hey, I need my inhaler." Megan hated having to ask in such a breathy voice, but she didn't really have a choice. She could tell by the way her chest and neck muscles were tightening, that this asthma attack was going to put the one from yesterday to shame if she didn't get her inhaler soon.

"Oh? And what makes you think your going to get it, you little faker?" Galloway sneered down at her. Megan couldn't believe what she was hearing, did he not notice the inhaler the soldier from earlier took?

"How about because I can't breath?" Megan gasped, try to force the air into her lungs. Galloway's look became more calculating.

"Tell me what I want to know and I will give you your inhaler." Galloway said like he was doing her a favour by making such an offer.

"I can't tell you what you want to know if I can't breath." Megan tried to snap at him, but the effect was ruined by the fact she had to pause every few words to breath.

"Then I'm afraid you won't be getting it." He smirked. Megan was furious but she was a little too busy breathing to try and kill the insolent jerk. The soldier by the door shifted from foot to foot when her coughing started again. Megan tried to shoot the man a pleading look through her watering eyes. The man met her eyes, looked at Galloway and spoke up.

"Sir, I don't think she's faking. My sister has asthma, and she gets the same way when-" Galloway snapped around to glare at the soldier.

"Did I ask for your opinion? No? Then kindly stay _silent_." He hissed and turned around to continue questioning Megan.

Megan ignored Galloway's continuing questions and held the gaze of the soldier. For several seconds the man looked torn, before he seemed to come to a conclusion and silently opened the door and snuck out. Megan hoped he was getting her inhaler and did her part to keep Galloway from noticing his company was missing. She gasped and coughed insults, telling him in an anatomically correct way exactly where he could shove his questions.

* * *

Mirage was stunned, the Allspark was gone. He had listened to the last of the debriefing with a numb processor, hearing what was being said but not really processing it. The only thing that had elicited a reaction from him was when they mentioned how Jazz had died in the final struggle for the Allspark. Mirage looked in confusion at the obviously alive silver saboteur standing not even several feet away. Jazz merely grinned and gestured for him to keep listening.

Prime continued to tell of how Sam had braved Megatron's wrath and the failed attempt to evacuate the Cube. Prime mentioned his decision to connect his spark with the Cube to protect the Earth, but at the last possible second Sam shoved the Allspark into Megatron's chest. In one decisive, random act, ending both and age old war and the mech responsible for it. Mirage didn't know how to feel about this.

Mirage wasn't angry, simply numb. Hound seemed to pick up on Mirage's distress without him having to physically express it, and laid a servo at his shoulder. Or perhaps he simply knew how hard it would be for him to accept. Mirage's processor was still trying to come to terms that they wouldn't be returning to Cybertron. Without the Allspark their planet would remain a lifeless rock, likely for the rest of forever. He understood why of course, it was better to have lost the Cube then have it in Megatron's claws, but still. The price of the war was still too great to completely comprehend, so much was lost.

Optimus went on to explain how Jazz was revived with the single recovered shard of the Allspark. A shard that was later stolen by the Decepticon's just a few months ago, and was confirmed to have been used to also revive the remains of Megatron. The Decepticon's had retreated immediately out of atmosphere and disappeared. Mirage's report now confirmed the Decepticon leader's return to the living, and that he was planning something for earth.

There was a moment of silence as the bots in the room each relived the loss of the Allspark, the end of their hopes for Cybertron. Even the humans remained silent, their sympathies and regrets showed in their eyes, with a few exceptions that wisely stayed quiet. Mirage deeply cycled his vents, the super heated air from stressed systems being the only external sign he allowed to show. However even as he released some of the tension in his frame he still felt like something was wrong, a nagging sensation at the back of his processor. Before he could identify the source of his unease, or anyone could speak further to conclude the debriefing, there was a harried knock at the door.

With a signal from Optimus the door unlocked and opened to admit a human soldier. The human rushed in, panting slightly as if he had ran across the base to get there. The soldier wore a camo skullcap, had an impressive scruff of stubble on his chin and was obviously of Hispanic decent. The man paused momentarily when he noticed the tense atmosphere of the room, still breathing heavily. Lennox called down to the soldier as he made his way down the catwalk stairs.

"Fig. You couldn't wait until we were done?"

"No, no podia. Ese maldito Galloway va contra las ordenes. El ser-"

"English Fig. What about Galloway?" Lennox interrupted the irate man, who had reverted to another language in his rush. The man paused, caught his breath, and tried again.

"The girl you put in those unused interrogation room. You know, the spunky little chica who came in with the new guy? Apparently Galloway's been circumventing protocol and has been interrogating her for the past few hours. Now she's having some kind of attack and we can't get to her."

Mirage turned his complete attention to what the human was saying. Mirage knew exactly what kind of attack the man was referring to and was immediately concerned. He had researched asthma after he had witnessed Megan's first attack almost a week ago. If she was having a sever reaction and wasn't being treated, her condition could rapidly deteriorate. Lennox turned and glared at Galloway's assistant who was standing by the railing.

"You knew where he was didn't you?" Lennox tried to ask calmly, but his aggressive body language betrayed his anger at having protocols broken for the second time in one night.

"All I know is that he was previously engaged." The younger man snorted, his tone suggesting that, yes he had known.

Lennox stiffened and his eyes flashed, but he stormed past Fig without replying, with Epps right behind him for back up. Mirage didn't hesitate or even look to Optimus for a dismissal like he usually would, and instead quickly moved to follow Lennox. If the others noticed his strange behavior they didn't comment and also moved to follow behind.

It wasn't long that they had been rushing along the large corridors when the sound of many people shouting could be heard. They entered the main hangar where there was a smaller, human sized hallway to one side, which was crammed full of people yelling and pushing each other. Mirage was confused to see that they seemed to be split in two groups, some trying to move forward while others pushed them back, and yet they all wore the same uniform. Lennox grabbed the closest soldier by his collar for an explanation.

"What is going on here?" He asked in a voice of deadly calm. The soldier seemed startled by the sudden appearance of the Major but quickly straightened and began to explain.

"Sir, I was one of the soldiers with Galloway as he interrogated the girl. She wasn't answering his questions, Galloway resorted to threats and she became upset. She began to have an asthma attack and Galloway is refusing her medical inhaler. I tried to make him see reason but he wasn't being swayed. I left to find it for her but her things appear to be missing."

Lennox cursed but gestured for the soldier to continue.

"I enlisted help from some of your soldiers who decided to skip the search and try to take her to the med bay. Some of Galloway's soldiers didn't like that and are now trying to stop them, resulting in this. Meanwhile that girl is alone with Galloway and she can't be doing too good."

Lennox shoved the soldier away with a calm glare that promised a later conversation. With a barked command half of the soldiers parted while he had to almost shove his way through the other half. Epps followed close behind his friend, watching his back and shoving back any soldiers that looked like they were going to follow the pair. The hallway was far too small for Mirage to follow, so he could only watch the Major's retreating back and wait for them to emerge again, and hope Megan was alright.

Mirage became aware of the presence of the others standing behind him, watching the interactions of the soldiers with varying degrees of disapproval and even annoyance. Ironhide was even growling at some of the soldiers who had stood in Lennox's way. Mirage had no doubt that if Ironhide had his way, those soldiers would be dodging real cannon fire for practice. A question occurred to Mirage which he asked, all the while not taking his attention from the small human hallway where Megan was.

"Why are the humans so divided? Do they not all work for the same cause?" It was Optimus who answered, slight censure coloring his tone.

"Their have been disagreements between Lennox and Galloway as to which soldiers are brought onto base and made aware of our existence. The result is a small fraction of the soldiers that share the same mindset as the Director as to our continuing presence on this planet. Though Major Lennox is minimizing the number of those with those prejudiced notions, he cannot keep them all off base."

Mirage would have commented on the humans apparently haphazard way of screening their soldiers but was too intent on the human sized hallway. The hallway was still clogged with arguing soldiers and Lennox's voice could be heard from deeper within. Mirage didn't need to look behind him to know that it was Bluestreak, who had by some miracle managed to mute his vocalizer this long, was the one fidgeting and tapping his armor. Finally the young gunner couldn't stay silent any longer.

"That little human femme is going to be ok isn't she? I mean nothing bad is going to happen to her not on base because of that nasty Galloway man right? I really hope not 'cause I really wanted to meet her. I mean from what Mirage was saying she seems nice and I wanted to see what humans from off base are like. She's going to be ok right?" Jazz fortunately interrupted the mech by laying a servo on his shoulder.

"She'll be fine Blue. From wha' 'Raj has been telling' us about 'er she's a tough lil' lady."

No sooner had the words left the silver mech's vocalizer that a call ran down the hallway. Sending Mirage's circuits on edge and his traitorous spark clenching with worry.

"Somebody get Ratchet!"

* * *

Megan had no idea how long it had been since the soldier had left the room, it couldn't have been too long, but it felt like hours. Megan could feel her shoulders rising to her ears as her neck and chest muscles had to work far to hard to force air into her inflamed lungs. Galloway was starting to look unsure of himself now as her painful sounds of laboured breathing were the only answers to his questions that he was getting. It was only when Galloway stopped asking his questions that she heard loud voices yelling in the hallway beyond the door.

"What the hell is going on out there?" He muttered while moving to the door.

Galloway never got to the door because it was suddenly opened by Major Will. The man's bright blue eyes looked as hard and cold as ice as he turned and began yelling at Galloway. Megan's view of the yelling fight was blocked by Epps, who wordlessly agreed to let the Major take care of the Director while he took care of her. Megan focused on the dark skinned man as he grasped her shoulders, and flashed her a brilliant smile, to hide his worry. Megan could tell that her allergic reaction was getting bad, but she couldn't see that she was beginning to turn blue.

"Hey Megan. We're going to get you some help, alright?"

Megan couldn't find the breath to ask, so instead she weakly gestured for her inhaler. Epps frowned as he helped her to her feet and supported most of her weight.

"We can't find your inhaler. Your stuff seems to have gone missing for the moment. So we're taking you to Ratchet. The human doctor on base left on a family emergency, but don't worry, Ratchet may be a little too scan happy but he'll take care of you."

Megan missed a step when he mentioned scans, but fortunately Epps caught her before her strength could fail her. The last thing Megan wanted right now was a scan, no matter how small. She just hoped that this Ratchet knew what doctor-to-patient confidentiality was. Megan struggled even more for breath as they moved through the crowded hallway, leaving Will and Galloway to yell at each other. Standing and trying to walk was demanding even more air, air that she didn't have. So as her vision began to fail and she felt her legs give out, the last thing she heard as she finally collapsed was Epps.

"Somebody get Ratchet!"

* * *

**Translation: "No, I could not. That damn Galloway goes against orders, The be-"**

**So there you have it. I know it's a little shorter than normal but this is all I got right now, my muse is pulling a Galloway. To sum up; Galloway's a jerk, Will's pissed, Mirage's is worried, and Megan just passed out from a lack of oxygen. Should I be hiding right now? Next chapter we find out more about Megan's past and why she hates hospitals and doctors and scans. Let's just say Ratchet will not be happy, and you might all hate me for what I'm going to write. On a side note: some of you may wonder why the Allspark shard revived both Jazz and Megatron. My reasoning is that; remember the tiny shard that Sam finds in ROTF? Well if that tiny sliver has enough power to create several new sparks, just simply reviving two sparks should be easy-peasy for one BIG shard, with power to spare. That's how I see it anyway. Remember this is my playtime in the Transformers world, so as the writer, what I say goes! HA! Oh, and props to those who can spot the 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' reference in this chapter. Sorry for any bad Spanish and don't forget to review!**


	13. Chapter 13: Secrets and sorrows

**IMPORTANT NOTE!**  
**Hey sorry this post is a little late but the good news is it's the biggest to date! Unfortunately I have bad news for you all. My access to the internet is going to be splotchy for the next two months so updating reliably is going to be difficult. Don't worry I'll still be writing but posting will be random for a while. Anyway I have my rant review shelter built so remember to read and review! (Don't hate me too much!) *insert evil cackle*.**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

_~Flashback/dream~_

:Comm link:

* * *

Ratchet had already been on his way when he received the comms, and a data burst of the situation. Epps had only just carried Megan from the narrow hallway when Ratchet arrived and quickly, but gently, snapped the girl up in a servo. Mirage only caught a glimpse of a horridly pale face and blue skin before Ratchet whisked her away. Ratchet refused to have anyone in the med bay while he worked and locked the med bay doors behind him to keep everyone out.

Major Lennox spent the remainder of the night putting soldiers in the brig and cleaning up Galloway's mess. Lennox had Galloway detained in his office until he could get a hold of the Joint Chief's of Staff and General Morshower and detail them on the recent insubordinate behaviour of the liaison. It took hours, but finally as the sky began to lighten the soldiers dispersed and the base quieted some. Meanwhile the transformers on base either did their best to stay out of the way, or in Prime's case, attempt to help Lennox defuse the tense situation.

Mirage did neither. Instead he stood, still and silent as a statue, outside the med bay doors. Unlike Ironhide, who simply went and blew something up when upset, or Prowl who would pace, Mirage would become very still when angered or worried. It was when he could no longer remain still, and contain the anger in his stillness, that was the danger. The only signs that he wasn't a gigantic metal statue, were his unwavering pale blue optics and the occasional cycle of overheated air from his vents. Hound stayed with his friend, trying to break Mirage from his anger by starting a conversation. Failing at that he simply stood beside him, waiting for Ratchet to admit them.

The sun had only just risen into the sky when Ratchet finally emerged from the med bay. Mirage moved swiftly, trying to get inside to see Megan for his own optics but was grabbed by the shoulder plates by Ratchet. Mirage glared at the medic with dangerously pale optics, Ratchet just glared right back.

"What do you think you're doing? You should be recharging like I told you! Your self-repair systems need all the help they can get."

"I am going to check on her." Mirage growled and tried to move forward, but once again the firm servo on his shoulder stopped him.

"No you're not. She's still unconscious and she will be for awhile. What you should be doing is recharging, or if you won't do that then go outside and get some sun. The solar energy will at least lend your systems some of the access energy they need to start the repair process." Ratchet gave Mirage a warning growl.

Hound grabbed Mirage's free shoulder and gave a small tug. Hound knew just by the set of Ratchet's faceplates that it would be useless to argue.

"Come on 'Raj. I have to patrol around the perimeter of the base, you can come and keep me company. Besides, you'll see her when you have to see Ratchet for your repairs later, alright?"

Mirage shrugged away their servos and, with one last pale blue glare at the CMO, walked away with stiff door wings toward the main hanger. Ratchet turned his attention to Hound.

:Be sure he gets some sun, and if you can, perhaps some recharge before he comes to see me. I also highly recommend you keep him away from Director Galloway. For the Director's health if not Mirage's:

:I'll try, but no promises. How is she? He'll want to know once he's calmed down.:

:She should be fine in a few days to a week. Her lungs were far too inflamed to properly take in oxygen, I had to give her the proper medications intravenously. She's resting now, and breathing normally with an oxygen mask. She'll be fatigued for a few days and should remain in the med bay until she is fully recovered.:

:That's good. I'd better go catch up to him before he decides to disappear. Even without his cloaking system he won't be found if he doesn't want to be.:

Hound disappeared after Mirage and Ratchet retreated back into the med bay with a sigh. He glanced over at the tiny, human sized, gurney he had set on the much larger, mech sized berth. The girl occupying the bed was made to seem even smaller by the comparison. Ratchet bit back another sigh as he scanned the girl once more, everything was within normal parameters, except one thing. Ratchet had accessed her medical file within a minute after he had first scanned her. Megan had a lot of questions to answer when she woke up.

* * *

Mirage followed behind Hound's military jeep alt-form on the patrol around the base parameter. Normally the spy would have taken this opportunity to make himself more familiar with his new surroundings, but he was processing other, more important matters. Hound, after a few minutes of fruitless efforts to try and pry Mirage out of his self-imposed silence, slowed and transformed. They were about a mile away from the nearest human made structure and it made a good place for them to talk.

Mirage was so wrapped up in his own processor he had to sharply veer off to one side at the last second to avoid a collision. Mirage tried to recover his dignity from being caught off guard by making the sharp turn into a spin and transforming. He glared balefully at Hound and somehow managed to huffily straighten his already immaculate posture. Hound wasn't fooled, he knew something was wrong with Mirage and he was going to find out what.

"Come on 'Raj. Something's bothering you, so spill."

"Spill what?"

"It's a human expression." Hound sighed.

Mirage took a moment to look up the term and nodded, still confused but understanding what Hound was asking. Mirage also cycled his vents in a human sigh.

"There is… much that has happened." It felt like the biggest understatement of the vorn but Mirage wasn't sure where to begin. He wasn't sure he even wanted to be telling Hound anything, but Mirage trusted no one else to speak with, other then Prime that is. As always Hound saw right to the heart of matters, he was nothing if not pragmatic and 'down-to-earth' so the humans would say.

"I'm guessing this has to do with Megan?" Hound questioned.

Mirage nodded, and his servos clenched at the memory of Megan's unconscious form being swiftly carried away by Ratchet. His spark gave a lurch as the bond flared for a moment, but only for a moment before Mirage slammed up his walls cutting it off once more. Mirage hadn't expected the developing bond to be so stubborn. Mirage brought his attention back to Hound, the only external sign of the conflict in Mirage's spark was a slight stiffening of his door wings.

"What do you know of Cybertronian-Human Guardian bonds?" Mirage questioned. The widening of Hound's optics showed slight surprise at Mirage's question.

"Not much. I know that both Bee and Ironhide have them and that their both very dedicated to their humans. Ratchet's been keeping a close optic on the bonds and how they work. We've never interacted with organics like we have with humans. So it's strange to think we can bond to beings who don't, necessarily, have metaphysical sparks like ours. However I think it's fascinating." Hound said with an excited grin.

Mirage nodded, everything Hound was saying matched what Ratchet had been saying earlier. He cycled his vents once again and tried to collect his thoughts. Hound waited patently, knowing that getting Mirage to open up and speak for once was harder then tracking a cyberfox through an acid rain storm. Though judging from Mirage's recent actions and his questions he could guess where this was going.

"Ratchet… tells me I am developing a Guardian bond with Megan." Mirage growled out of his vocal processor.

Hound was careful about his reaction to Mirage's news, even though he wanted to grin and congratulate his friend. Hound knew why Mirage detested bonds and kept his spark hidden away from the world. Smothering the desire to shoot Mirage for being an idiot, he settled for letting out a sigh before speaking.

"And?"

"And I don't want it!" Mirage snarled.

"Why?" Hound asked, completely unaffected by Mirage's anger.

Mirage paused at Hound's question. The green mech wasn't smiling, in fact he seemed completely serious when he asked why.

"You know why Hound." Mirage said in a calmer voice.

Hound shook his helm and held his servos palm up in a shrug.

"You know, the humans have another interesting saying. They say; 'No man is an island', but I think it can also apply to mech's."

Mirage looked up the saying when Hound didn't seem willing to elaborate further. Oddly enough he was led to a piece of human poetry.

"I don't understand." Mirage sighed.

"Human's rarely make sense. Even Jazz and I have trouble understanding them most of the time." Hound chuckled but quickly sobered.

"You haven't had a bond beyond that of a comrade since the beginning of the war Mirage. You have a lot of mech's worried about you. Our sparks aren't supposed to go so long without some kind of bond to keep them stable. Frag, even Optimus has Elita, even if they haven't seen each other since leaving Cybertron they keep each others sparks steady. You know that, and yet you refuse to form a Guardian bond to a human that you obviously care for? That doesn't make sense."

"She is not my charge, it was a simple reaction to basic Guardian programming. She is just another human to me." Mirage said dismissively, not really believing it even as he said it.

"Really? Then if she's 'just another human' why were you so worried about her? Why did you wait outside the med bay for hours for the chance to see her, even though you knew you'd have to go though Ratchet to do so? Guardian programming doesn't make a mech do that, last time I checked" Hound spoke softly, careful not to sound like he was accusing Mirage.

Mirage didn't have an answer for that, in fact he wasn't even sure he wanted to. All he knew was he didn't want a Guardian bond. He didn't want to have someone he needed to protect, because that meant he had someone to lose. Having a human charge just meant it was going to happen sooner then later, human's were after all, a short-lived species. Hound placed a servo on Mirage's shoulder.

"At least give it a chance before you decide you don't want the bond. Bee should get here with his charge in a day or so. You should talk to him and Ironhide, maybe they can give you some advice on it."

"Perhaps." Mirage said tonelessly.

"Come on. We should finish the patrol before noon, then you can go check on Megan and get your repairs."

Both mech's transformed and continued on their way. Mirage was still distracted but now he also had another question to ask himself.

_'Should I keep the bond? Is it worth it? Primus what am I getting into?'_

* * *

_~Consciousness seemed to come quickly, and yet all too slowly to her sleepy mind. A sleep that was forgotten in a wave of heat and choking dark smoke. Panic, even thicker than the black vapors in the air, rose up and for a split second froze her where she lay in her bed. The sting of smoke in her eyes and another wave of heat broke her from her panic._

_She could feel her skin blistering from the scalding temperatures coming from the floorboards as she leapt to her feet. Choking for air, eyes already stinging and watering from the thick pollution she stumbled toward where she knew her door to be. Her hand wrapped around the too hot handle and she fell through the doorway into a flaming hallway. She could hardly see through the thick cloying air and the tears streaming down her face, but the bright tongues of flame still burned brightly through the smog._

_She choked and coughed as she tried to find a way out, her lungs screamed for air that the flames were taking for themselves. The sweat and tears did nothing to cool her skin in the all encompassing heat as she desperately searched for a way out and fresh air. However her search came to an abrupt halt when she remembered that she was not alone in this burning house. She turned and tried to go back, but the floor and walls were already aflame. She tried to call out to them but all that came out was a cough, she could hardly breath. A chilling laugh came from behind her, and she unwillingly turned to face it._

_Felix stood there, the smoke and fire seeming to flinch away from him, leaving him untouched in it's midst. He was exactly as she remembered him, with dark brown hair neatly parted and combed to perfection, and dressed in spotless casual clothes. He was tall and fit with an air of untouchable confidence, there was only one difference. His eyes were no longer the honey brown she had once long ago admired, they were a glowing electric red she had seen in the face of monsters. The monster Felix laughed at her fear and leaned forward to ask her a question._

_"What do you fear the most, Megan?"_

_Before she could reply with her answer the flames soared high and hot, catching her clothes and scorching her skin. The floorboards under her suddenly collapsed and she didn't even have the breath to scream as she fell.~_

Megan opened her eyes with a gasp, the ghostly dream smell of smoke still lingered in her nose as she realized that she was now truly awake. She shot up, chest heaving for air, trying to orient herself with her surroundings and confirm that the dream/memory wasn't still happening. Megan's first impressions were of a very large, brightly lit room that smelled of sterilizing chemicals and metal. Then she noticed the IV tube in her hand.

Megan shuddered and ripped the little needle from her hand threw it at the oxygen tank and face mask that stood near her bed. A bed that she then recognized as a hospital gurney. Combined with the sterile smell and now that she was remembering how she may have gotten here, she realized she was in an oversized hospital room. The entire situation was all too reminiscent of when she had first woken after the fiery memory, and despite how incredibly weak she felt she forced herself out of the bed.

She was only able to stumble a few feet away from the bed before she fell gracelessly onto her back on the metal berth. Megan took a few cautious deep breaths to calm herself and force away the last remaining shreds of the dream/memory. She acknowledged the tired and pained pull of unused muscles that shouldn't have to work so hard to breath, while at the same time relishing the feeling of being able to do so. She was also glad that they had let her keep her civilian clothes and not put a flimsy gown on her. Even if her clothes did feel grungy from sleeping in them, the worst feeling however, was that her mouth felt like it was growing moss, and her stomach was horrendously empty. Megan thought back to the circumstances and situation that had brought her here with an unamused frown.

_'Note to self; add 'break Galloway's nose' to my bucket list.'_ She thought ruefully to herself as she inspected her surroundings.

Fully ignoring the medical equipment behind her, she noticed she was on a large metal slab several feet off the ground. There were a few other similar metal slabs against the walls around the room, all of them empty, leaving her alone in the large room. Both ends of the room had a cybertronian sized door one of which had to be an exit. She wondered idly for several minutes how long she had been out. Megan was tired and weak but she had no plans on sticking around anything remotely hospital-like. It brought up too many bad memories.

She was just beginning to contemplate how to get down in her weakened state without further injuring herself, when she heard two voices coming from the closest doorway, the one to her right. One voice was young sounding and had the rambling quality of someone who talks a lot. The other sounded slightly older and had an odd slang accent she couldn't immediately place. The voices sounded like they were trying to not be heard, but were miserably failing because Megan didn't even have to try in order to hear their words through the door.

"Quiet Blue! Man, Ah'm startin' to understand why yur not a spy bot like 'Raj. Yer vocalizer would give you away in a sparkbeat."

"This isn't a good idea Jazz. Ratchet told everyone on the open comm that he doesn't want anyone in the med bay right now short of deactivation. Which is what he'll do to us when he finds out we've hacked his codes and went in anyway. Right after he's tossed every wrench in his subspace at our helms reformatted us into toasters and welded our afts to the ceiling." The one called Blue chattered nervously.

The one called Jazz answered in a teasing manner, and while he spoke the door began to make odd whirring and clicking sounds.

"Yer da one who suggested it Blue. You've been listenin' ta Ironhide too much, Ratchet ain't that bad. Which is a shame 'cause I think you'd make a lovely toaster. 'Sides the girl's likely still out cold, we'll just check on her and we'll be out faster than Ratchet can pull a wrench from subspace."

With a final positive beep the doors hissed and swiftly slid aside, revealing two silver bots who's bright blue optics immediately focused on her. It was hard to tell if they were surprised she was awake, as she was still inexperienced at reading their expressions. These bot's were much smaller then Optimus at about eighteen feet tall, but their attention was putting her on the spot. Feeling a little nervous without Mirage around for support or to back her up, she raised on hand in greeting.

"Hi?" It accidentally came out sounding like a question.

One bot seemed to recover from his surprise faster than the other and stepped forward with a smile. He was the same height as the other one, but was a little wider and wore a glowing blue visor over his optics. Megan watched him carefully as he smoothly made his way over to her berth an leaned against it, arms crossed over his chassis and a wide grin still on his faceplates. Rationally Megan knew she had nothing to fear, but her only experience with bots that weren't Mirage had been Barricade and the Dreads. Neither of which inspired great confidence in strange new mech's she didn't know. However the calm and relaxed attitude of the bot helped her to relax a little.

" 'ey there lil' lady. The name's Jazz. So, you come here often?" He asked in an attempt at a seductive tone.

The question was so far out of place and had come in such an unexpected way Megan was helpless to stop the laughter. Jazz's already wide grin grew even more, reminding her a little of the Cheshire cat. Her already weak and abused muscles protested the treatment, so she had to stop laughing quickly but she continued to chuckle as she replied.

"You must be Jazz. Mirage did mention your wicked sense of humour." Megan smothered another round of giggles as Jazz gave a small bow.

"Ah'm glad to see mah reputation precedes meh. An' this is Bluestreak, best gunner in the whole Autobot army." Jazz clapped a servo to the other silver mech's shoulder.

Now that he had come closer Megan could see that Bluestreak wasn't entirely silver. He had what could have been a light blue racing stripe, which could be seen along the edges of his armor and brought out his blue optics. Bluestreak was thinner then Jazz, more whip-like in build, but Megan also got the impression that he was also younger then Jazz. How she thought she knew that she couldn't say, it was just a feeling she got from him. The gunner seemed nervous as he came closer and shifted his weight from ped to ped. Megan gave him an encouraging smile, her own nervousness receding into nothing. Then the dam broke and words came flooding out of Blue's vocalizer.

"It's nice to meet you Megan. I'm so glad your ok. Mirage told us about how you met after he crash landed on earth after being injured by those Decepticon's. I knew we shouldn't have left him but we didn't have a choice and then he told us how you helped him to get away from the Dreads and I thought that I'd like to meet you and get to know a human from off base but thenyouhadwhatRatchettoldmeiscalledanasthmaattacka nd-"

"Whoa there cowboy! Slow down a little so I have a chance at understanding you, ok?" Megan interrupted the flow of words with another laugh.

Now she understood why they called him Bluestreak, the mech's had no need to breath so there was nothing to stop the torrent of words from picking up speed until it just became unrecognizable noise. Megan found him oddly adorable as he rubbed his helm bashfully, apologizing while Jazz teased him. It was strange to think of a giant metal robot as adorable but strangely enough Blue pulled it off.

"So lil' lady, what are you doing out of bed? The Doc bot would throw a wrenchy fit if he saw you up and trying to get about." Jazz raised an optical ridge, trying and failing to seem stern. Megan shrugged.

"I don't much like hospital beds. How long was I out?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Just a few hours, it's almost noon now." Bluestreak supplied helpfully.

"Well no wonder I'm starving then. Any chance you two could help me escape?" She asked hopefully.

Before either bot could reply the far left hand door slid aside and the two mech's froze for a moment in dread. That moment was all it took for two silver streaks of light to fly across the room and connect hard with both their helms, with a loud clang and two similar cries of pain. Megan was so startled she could only watch with wide eyes as both Blue and Jazz staggered back from the sudden attack, clutching their new dents and making for the door.

"Sorry lil' lady you're on your own on this one. Later Doc bot!" Jazz said as he dodged another silver streak of light that Megan realized was actually a very large wrench, almost as long as she was tall. Jazz and Bluestreak disappeared around the corner as a large yellow-green mech stormed past her berth, another silver wrench in his servo.

"Don't call me that you little glitch-spawns from the Pit! Hack the codes on my med bay doors again and I'll reformat you into a bean bag chair!"

If an automatic sliding door could be slammed shut, the mech succeeded in doing so in his frustration. Megan froze in place as the CMO turned his attention to her, she was not afraid to admit she was slightly intimidated by this mech. Especially while he was still holding that wrench.

"You." The mech growled while pointing one of his very large digits at her.

"Me." She squeaked, throat suddenly dry.

A ridiculous chant of 'please don't probe me' had started up in the back of her head as the mech regarded her. Megan suddenly had a strange tickling sensation crawl over her skin, not unlike when her hairs would stand on end when it was cold. Megan had the sinking feeling that the medic had just scanned her. The CMO sighed and pointed to the gurney behind her.

"You should be in your bed." He said grumpily.

A small part of Megan recognized the rough attitude of the medic was all an act. It actually reminded her of how her grandpa would act when someone gave him her distant baby cousin to hold. He would grump and grumble about having to cradle the little guy, but wouldn't let anyone else take him away from him. It was a lot like how the CMO carried himself, the grumpy attitude and rough edges hiding what was in fact a very caring nature. Megan really didn't want to look at let alone lay in the gurney, but she also didn't want to end up on the medic's bad side. She quickly came up with a compromise.

"Ok, but only if you answer my questions, and no more scanning me without my permission." Megan pushed her nervousness about the CMO away and glared up at him.

Ratchet rolled his optics and said a rude sounding cybertronian word, but nodded all the same. Megan tottered to her feet and stumbled back to the bed, nearly falling back into it, exhausted from the effort. She internally cursed Galloway with several different parasites and the chicken pox as she sat gingerly on the side of the bed. Ratchet seemed miffed that she wasn't laying down but didn't press the issue and folded his arms over his chassis. There was a moment of silence while they contemplated each other. Megan cleared her throat to start, since the literally 'older than dirt' bot in front of her likely had much more patience then her.

"Soo… my name's Megan and you must be Ratchet." She said, unsure where else to begin. Ratchet rolled his optics once more and gave what sounded like an electronic snort.

"If your going to waste my time like this femme I have other, more important things to be doing."

"Well excuse me for trying to get the formalities out of the way." Megan snapped impatiently.

Ratchet raised an optical ridge at her but conceded with a cycle of his vents.

"Yes, I am the Autobot CMO, my designation in your language is translated as Ratchet. Not Hatchet, not Doc bot, or any other references you are sure to hear on base. Use any of them in my presence and you'll find yourself buried up to your neck in the desert. Compute?"

_'CMO must stand for Cranky Medical Officer.'_ Megan commented in the back of her mind.

Megan struggled to keep the smile off her face at his rant and nodded solemnly. Seemingly satisfied with her response he went around the room picking up the wrenches he had thrown earlier, asking his questions as he did so. It wasn't like the CMO to beat around the bush, but he was hindered on how to proceed due to his lack of experience with humans. Not to mention the questions he wanted to ask were likely best asked after some leading up to the subject.

"You have bands of ruptured capillary beds in the soft tissue of your thorax that are approximately just over a day old. You also have a tear in the superficial dermal layers of your skin. How did you acquire these injuries?" Ratchet's voice had taken on a distinctly professional tone. It took a second for Megan to decipher the technical jargon and understand he was asking about her bruises.

"Oh, did Mirage not tell you all about our run in with the Dreads?"

Ratchet's processor stuttered as he checked the femme's vitals for a potential lie. There was no such indicators to say such. Ratchet had chosen to skip Mirage's debriefing and instead investigated the possibility of shutting down already active Guardian bonds. In less than a click he privately commed Prowl for the debriefing file he should have asked for hours ago, but didn't bother to ask for. Prowl promptly sent the data-packet and within a micro-click he was fully informed on how Megan had received her injuries.

Ratchet cursed Primus and what ever deity humans prescribed to for giving humans such fragile helms he couldn't whack with a wrench. Maybe if they were more durable they wouldn't be so fragging reckless, but he doubted that. Ratchet turned his attention back to Megan, hardly even a pause having had gone by since she asked her question.

"No, I missed the debriefing. However I have just uploaded the summarized report and I feel compelled to ask. Are you a fragging idiot?"

"What's a frag?" Megan asked, fully understanding she was likely being insulted but curious as to how she was being insulted. Ratchet's optics cycled and his mouth closed with an audible click.

"I'm not answering that question." He groused. It was bad enough that the soldiers on base had managed to pick up cybertronian curses. Megan chuckled at the glare Ratchet sent in her direction, but quickly sobered again.

"Alright then let me ask another question. Have you read my medical file?"

Ratchet paused midway through subspacing one of his wrenches. The girl was showing classic signs of stress, and was staring very intently at him. Megan watched as Ratchet set aside the wrenches and turned to fully face her. Ratchet cycled his vents and nodded.

"I just about had a spark attack when I first scanned you. I hacked the hospital records and obtained a copy of your medical file so I could be sure what I was dealing with."

"Pretty sure that's illegal." Megan muttered looking at her twisting fingers. Her comment went ignored as Ratchet continued speaking, his temper was beginning to boil and his optics began to pale.

"What exactly were you processing when you decided to go on this 'trip'? Did you plan to get caught in a war that would get you killed? Or perhaps you just wanted to throw your life away like it meant nothing to you."

Normally Megan would respond to the flare of temper with one of her own, but she wasn't up to fighting fire with fire right now. Not about this. She looked up at Ratchet with dull eyes as she let the numb apathy creep up on her for the first time in awhile.

"You wouldn't understand." She said. Ratchet's optics paled even more, but oddly enough Megan didn't feel nervous about making him angry, she just felt empty.

"Oh, I understand. You're giving up! Instead of staying at home and fighting it you decided to run away and just kill yourself faster in the process!" Megan found something of her temper stir at the accusation of having given up.

"Why don't you do your research and look up the survival rates you over grown hunk of metal! I can't win so what good would staying at home do, Ratchet? I have limited stage, small-cell lung cancer in my right lung and likely less then a year to live! I don't regret my decision to get out and see the world. Sure, it dragged me into a war older then I can even imagine and almost killed me even more prematurely, but you know what? If I had decided to stay at home I never would have met Mirage. I never would had the chance to see and get to know giant metallic beings and know that humans aren't alone in the universe, and you know what else? It's worth every second!"

Her words had started out as a hoarse growl that grew into a shout by the end. Megan realized she was now standing, hands clenched at her sides and trembling with anger. Her anger having given her the temporary strength to stand without collapsing. As soon as she realized it the momentary strength fled and she had to lean heavily back onto the gurney behind her or risk falling on her face. She realized as she tried to get back into the bed that she had tears on her face.

Ratchet reached a servo to help her but she motioned for him to back off, which he did with hesitance. As she settled back she tried to surreptitiously dry her face of the shameful tears. She scolded herself for the wasted water, reminding herself there wasn't anything that she could do. It was easier to just tell herself 'it is what it is' and detach from the situation. It was the easiest way to keep herself moving and not turn into a shivering ball of fear and sorrow. She had had a years to adjust to her situation after all, she couldn't cry about it all the time.

"When did you first receive your diagnosis?" Ratchet's pale optics had gone back to their azure blue and his voice was quiet and almost gentle. Megan supposed he was asking for her benefit. Since he had her medical file and the entire internet he likely already knew more about her condition then she did, and she was living it. She watched her hands twisting the fabric of her shirt as she spoke.

"Two years ago. They discovered the tumor when I was in the hospital for a different accident. Never smoked a day in my life and I wind up as the unlucky few with a freaking cancer that's caused by it." She barked a single humorless laugh. It almost sounded more like a cry of pain. Megan sighed and kept speaking.

"They immediately put me on chemo and radiotherapy. Around the same time I moved in with my uncle and his family. I started school there with a bald head because of the treatments and immediately became the towns social outcast. People assumed I was just a bald freak before even getting to know me, and the name stuck. I used to love having long hair, but now I'm lucky it's even growing back." She sighed and gathered her will to look up into Ratchet's optics, expecting to see pity. Instead he was looking at her with empathy, and just a tiny hint of respect for her struggles.

"It's a miracle I've gone this long without a relapse, but about a month before I decided to go on this trip I was told the cancer was back. The doctors told me flat out to enjoy what time I have left, and that's what I plan to do."

There was a long, suffocating silence in which they simply looked at each other. Ratchet wasn't used to feeling useless and he never liked it when he did. There of course had been bots he had reached too late and couldn't help in the course of the war, but that had been because of horrific wounds and Decepticons. Cybertronians didn't suffer from a plague of viruses and diseases like humanity did. Viruses for a cybertroian were serious but could be easily cleared with a trip to a medic. He never had a patient who knew, with almost certainty, when and how their death was coming for them like the little organic femme in front of him did.

"Does Mirage know?" Ratchet asked unnecessarily and already dreading the answer.

"Not if I can help it. Please don't tell him Ratchet, there's no point. It's better that I just leave as soon as I'm better and we go our separate ways. There's no point in getting attached to someone who's going to be leaving sooner then later." She said morosely, knowing it to be true.

Ratchet hated the sad and defeated slump of her body, and he hated even more the fact he could do nothing to help her. She was too young to die, even by the standards of he own species. To him she was hardly more then a sparkling, and infinitely more fragile. Before he could form a response the door swished aside revealing a dark green bot with what looked like a rocket launcher on one shoulder. Behind the green bot was a familiar red figure to Megan.

"Hey Ratchet. Brought him back for his repairs, as promised." The green bot declared.

"Mirage!" Megan beamed up the spy bot as he made straight for her berth. Her expression transformed from defeated to happy in a split second. Megan kicked herself for her fickle nature. Sure she knew and said it was better not to get attached to someone like her, but instead of pushing Mirage away like she was supposed to she couldn't help but want him around.

"Megan. I trust you are well?" Despite the nonchalant tone he was using, the spy was having difficulties keeping his promise not to scan the girl. Even if his scanning capabilities were substandard to checking her internals. The part of his spark that had been all too aware of her absence now relaxed, as if knowing it's not-quite-charge was near. Mirage tried not to dwell on that fact and instead focused on Megan's smile.

"Yup, I'm fine. A bit hungry though, and I should probably find my inhaler."

"Hound, why don't you take Megan to refuel while I finish Mirage's repairs. Do not let her out of your sight, she's still weak from her attack. I'll have to contact Lennox to have her meals delivered until she's officially released." Ratchet growled in a foul mood, and went to get the necessary tools and supplies he would need for the procedure.

Normally Ratchet wouldn't let anyone, human or otherwise out of his bay until they were completely back to full health. It was very out of character of the medic. However, Hound also knew better then to question the Ratchet unless he didn't like his helm as it was. He came over the Megan's berth and lowered a hand beside her.

"Since your feeling out of sorts would you like a lift?" Hound asked with a friendly smile.

Megan immediately liked this bot, his sunny smile and cheerful disposition made a good first impression. She looked warily at the hand he offered, the palm alone was big enough to do a ballroom dance on.

"Promise not to drop me?" She asked cautiously, not wanting to offend the green mech.

"Primus forbid, never. Not only would Ratchet reformat me into a waffle iron but I think 'Raj here would use me for target practice with my own launcher. Don't you fret, you'll be in good servos." Hound's smile never faltered and his voice was sincere so Megan was inclined to trust him.

Megan didn't want to cause Mirage any unnecessary worry, so she used a lot of her energy moving the short distance to Hound's hand trying not to stumble. Despite her effort she couldn't keep them from noticing the minute trembling in her limbs. Unseen by Megan was the look Mirage gave to Hound, unnecessarily warning him to be careful. Hound just smiled and raised an optic ridge, to which Mirage wordlessly replied by turning his back and giving his attention to Ratchet.

Hound chuckled as Megan settled in the center of his palm but didn't bother to ask what was so funny. Instead she checked that Mirage's back was fully turned away and caught Ratchet's optic as he approached with a silent but meaningful look. Ratchet had noticed that some humans could send silent and complex messages with a glance, but this was the first time he had it directed at himself. The message was simple and remarkably clear in her eyes.

It was a look that said, 'Don't tell Mirage'.

And with that Hound took the girl away to find her some food, leaving both Ratchet and Mirage behind to watch the door close after them. Ratchet could only internally curse Primus for putting him between the secrets between Mirage and Megan. The worst part was he couldn't, in good conscience, tell the other what they were hiding, the middle was not a pleasant place to be in this situation. Mirage obediently set himself on a berth and let Ratchet get right to his work and for a time there was only the sound of Ratchet's tools and muttered grumbling.

First to be repaired was Mirage's spark cloaking tech, Ratchet growled about having to work on the tech without scans. The tech was operating to full capacity, making any scans even the sensitive and accurate medic's equipment unreliable. However Mirage was relieved once the jammed system was finally repaired enough he could lower the settings, lessening the drain it had on his systems. Next was the communications systems, which Ratchet had him test several times before he was satisfied with his work.

Ratchet was double checking Mirage's healing shoulder strut and welding any internal damage when the CMO spoke up.

"I've been looking into shutting down active Guardian programming. In theory it would seem that as long as the bond isn't fully active yet we can still deactivate them and severer the bond before it forms. Any time you're ready we can go though with it." Ratchet spoke in a clipped angry tone, showing his already apparent disapproval of this entire endeavour.

However a small part of him wondered if it would save the bot pain to do it this way. After Mirage's earlier vehemence against having a bond he had expected the bot to insist on Ratchet performing the task immediately. However Mirage's momentary hesitance had Ratchet pausing in his work to observe the rare expression of doubt on Mirage's faceplates. The expression didn't last long and Mirage spoke in his usual stoic manner.

"I aspire to wait for a time before making my final decision."

Internally Ratchet further cursed Primus and indecisive Towers mechs to the Pit. Externally his servos never wavered in their tasks and his faceplates moved only to raise a calculated optic ridge.

"You do realize that the longer you wait the more the bond will grow. Your working with a limited time frame here, and once you've made a decision there will be nothing that can be done to reverse it should you change your mind again."

"I realize that Ratchet. Which is why I wish to make a fully informed decision before continuing on this path."

Ratchet cycled his vents and roughly prodded a sensory node out of his way, causing Mirage to flinch and cast the medic a glare.

"Fine. Gather your fragging information so you can make up your damn processor. Just be quick about how you do it. Does making your decision include telling Megan about the bond?"

"Not if I can help it." Mirage wouldn't meet the medic's optics as he said it.

The irony of how well Mirage and Megan went together didn't escape Ratchet. They both were, and did, keep very big secrets from each other. Ratchet could only stand in the middle, and pray to Primus that all this worked out somehow.

* * *

**Should I be expecting you all to be coming with pitch forks and torches? (Ducks into pre-made angry, ranting-review-proof-bomb shelter) Ok in my defence I had to put one more big obstacle in Megan's and Raj's way to happiness. (As if they didn't already have enough to deal with you say? 'Ha, I'm the writer,' says I.) If you go back and re-read you will see a number of occasional hints and one line teases that hinted at this all along. Not to mention I believe I told you all chapters ago that you were going to hate me for what I was going to do to them. Something to note is I am not getting into religion with this story so don't you go there either ok? The good (and bad) news is that I have three possible story endings were I can take this. I have happy ending, sad ending, and bitter-sweet ending. Not yet sure which one I want to use but I'm leaning toward bitter-sweet but I want to know your thoughts. SO bring it on! Review!**


	14. Chapter 14: Indecision

**I'm baaaack~! Hello my fellow fanfiction enthusiasts! My deepest apologies for the lateness of this post, I had to go through the seven trials of writer hell before I could post. Not only was there limited internet, writer's block, procrastination, loss of muse, and getting back to school but my poor computer died! Nothing could be saved. T.T (cry) Thank you to all who sent flowers to the funeral, may she rest in pieces. On another note everybody say hello to my new computer Roxie! Another thing for everyone to know is that I started another story called Sparkbeats. I love it and have gotten a number of positive reviews. Don't worry Never say Goodbye is not being put on the back burner, I just need something to play with when my muse for this story is on vacation, but really go check it out. **

**Another thing I should say is that I apologize for last chapter, some have said they were unsure of or didn't like the direction I'm pointing this chapter series. Don't like, don't read. My dad passed from cancer less than a year ago and this is the direction I'm taking it. Some future chapters may get a little sad, may get a little angsty, and there may be feels and/or mild OOCness but I will do my best to add humor and keep it light. I hope none of that discourages anyone from reading, I like to think I am able to put more of myself into this work because of it. Enjoy and as always remember to read and review!**

Disclaimer: I don't own scrap, or transformers but I do own Megan. I don't make money off this or I wouldn't be writing fanfiction now would I? Naw, I'm kidding I'd still write fanfiction, but seriously I own nothing but Megan.

* * *

Megan was undeniably tense as Hound carried her away from the med bay. Part of it was because she was being carried twenty feet above the ground by a giant alien robot. The other half of it was because Ratchet might possibly tell Mirage about her illness. She could only hope that whatever passed for alien doctor to patient confidentiality also applied in this kind of situation. Hound must have noticed her nervousness because he slowed his footsteps even more and she could tell from his movement that he was being very careful not to jostle her in anyway. She was grateful for his thoughtfulness and the large curling metal fingers that acted as a guardrail between her and the floor. Megan flashed him a nervous but still bright smile of thanks.

"Ya know ya could loosen up some. I wasn't kidding when I said that I wouldn't let ya fall." Hound said teasingly, obviously trying to distract her. Megan forced a little of the tension in her shoulders and focused up at Hound's face, pushing thoughts of Mirage and Ratchet from her mind.

"Sorry. It's not that I don't trust you it's just… the last time I was in a mech's servo it was a Decepticon." She said truthfully.

Megan had to suppress a shudder as the memory of Crankcase's cruel talons transformed Hound's fingers for a moment. She shook the memory away and reminded herself where she was and who Hound was. She looked back up at Hound's face which had turned down into a concerned frown.

"Let me guess, Crankcase?" Hound asked, completely understanding the girl's anxiety. He doubted that most any human would be willing to be carried after a run in with Crankcase's claws.

"If you mean the scary one with claws that wants to kill Mirage more than anything, yes that's the guy. They really seem to hate each other, like on a personal basis and not just as people on opposite sides of a war. Mirage did once mention that he knew Crankcase but he wouldn't tell me how he knew him." Megan said to Hound as much as she did herself, trying in vain to piece together what little she knew of the spy bot to know him better.

"Mirage and Crankcase have a bit of a dark history between them. It's not really my place to be telling you about it, let's just say that both of them would love to see the other offlined at their own servos." Hound sighed then looked down at Megan with a lightly calculating gaze.

"He might open up to you about it if you asked him about it." He suggested.

"No, I don't want to bring up any bad memories just to satisfy my curiosity. Besides he and I have a mutual agreement on our pasts." Megan said with a shake of her head. Hound wondered what she meant by that but didn't ask.

They arrived at the Autobot recreation room, which was really just a large mostly empty hanger where the bots could refuel on energon when they were off shift. One wall was taken up by the largest TV Megan had ever seen and there was even a few cybertronian sized furniture pieces that must have cost more than a few tax dollars to engineer. The feature that they were there for was the tiny kitchenette in one corner that had been added for the charges and human friends of the bots. Since it was past noon the base cafeteria would be closed until supper, so it was the best place for Hound to keep an optic on Megan and for her to get something to eat.

Megan was set down on her unsteady legs but she found it was easier to use the countertops to navigate around and find something edible. She managed to find all she needed to make a large BLT even if the tomato was a little too soft. Once she had sat down with her meal and a large glass of water Hound continued their conversation, kneeling down so they were more face to face.

"So how was traveling with Mirage? He said in his report you guys traveled quite a ways to get here." Megan looked up at Hounds question and rolled her eyes swallowing her food before answering.

"Let's just say I feel sorry for you guys, you had to travel over entire galaxies with him. Thank goodness I only had to spend a few days traveling across a few states with him. I thought about leaving him on the side of the highway with a slashed tire more than once." Megan said teasingly and not a bit seriously.

"That bad?" Hound chuckled pleasantly.

"No, not really." Megan snickered.

Her mind wandered back to just a few days ago, she actually missed the quiet companionship they had as the miles disappeared behind them. She missed how safe she felt while sitting with him, like nothing could touch her. While Megan was lost in her thoughts Hound saw Major Lennox sneak in through the door behind Megan and gestured for Hound to remain silent. Hound gave an imperceptible nod and distracted Megan from the silently approaching soldier.

"So you got along then?"

"No, in fact we argued quite a little bit." Megan scoffed before rolling her eyes and giving Hound another smile. "But I think it was good for him to admit that he's wrong every now and again."

"Mirage, admit that he's wrong? Are we still talking about the same mech?" Hound said teasingly.

"Mirage just didn't know that you can't win an argument against a woman. I made sure that he knows now." Megan giggled and took another bite of her sandwich. Meanwhile Lennox had managed to sneak up until he was right behind Megan, he suddenly spoke nearly sending Megan toppling from her chair and choking on her food.

"Miss Pully, It's good to see that you're feeling better." Lennox said innocently with a mischievous smirk that was completely unbecoming on a Major. Once Megan had managed to swallow her food without inhaling it and clear her throat with a large sip of her water, she shot Lennox a narrow eyed glare.

"Do they call you a Major because it's your rank or because you're a _major _pain in the rear?" The teasing tone in her voice completely negated the deadly glare on her face. Lennox just laughed something that resembled an apology and took a seat on the other side of the table. Hound chuckled but quickly muted his vocal processor when it earned him a half-hearted dirty glare from Megan. Hound carefully tapped the Major on the shoulder with one large digit, nearly sending him flying from his chair but gaining his attention.

"Would you be willing to stay with her for a little while Will? I was going to go look for her missing things, but Ratchet wants someone to watch her. She'll need her inhaler at the very least and I imagine she would like to have a clean set of her own clothes." Lennox interrupted Megan as she was about to retort that she didn't need looking after.

"Sure thing Hound. I have a meeting in an hour or so."

"I should be back by then, if not just wait for me here alright Megan?"

"Whatever." Megan said, resigned to having a babysitter for the next few days. Hound disappeared into the large hallways and Lennox turned his attention back to her.

"But really Miss Pully, how are you? You had a lot of the fellas around her ready to string Galloway up and use him as a piñata." Lennox said half seriously, because he himself had been ready to take the first swing at bat. Megan grinned at the mental image before answering Lennox.

"Ratchet tells me I'm fine. It's been a few years but I've had bad asthma attacks before, I'll be a little weak but I should be fine in a day or two. I just have two requests." Megan said seriously, putting up two fingers. Lennox raised an eyebrow but nodded.

"You'll keep Galloway way from me if he likes his nose, and please call me Megan. 'Miss Pully' makes it sound like I'm in trouble." She grinned as she reached for her sandwich again.

"Then I'll only call you that when you're in trouble." Lennox teased, and Megan gave him a mock look of indignation before shaking her head at the Major.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about Galloway for a little while. I was able to pull a few strings and Galloway is going to Washington for a heavy reprimand for his actions last night. That'll take weeks, so I've been made temporary liaison until he gets back."

"Is there anyway to make that permanent?" Megan said hopefully. If she never saw Galloway again it would be too soon. Not that she was planning on staying at base until he came back.

"Not for the foreseeable future. I'm not entirely sure I'd want the job just because the paperwork alone is a nightmare. Not to mention the stuck up little assistant I have to deal with. However that's not what I came to talk to you about. We've heard Mirage's side of what happened and how you two met, but I still need your side of the story in order to make a report. Are you up to a few questions?"

"Sure, as long as you don't mind that I eat at the same time?"

"Not at all."

So in-between bites of her sandwich Megan told Lennox how she had met Mirage and their journey to find the Autobot base. She was grateful that Lennox didn't question why she was going on a cross country trip when she could be getting ready for collage. Since most of his questions revolved around the Autobots and Decepticons Megan felt comfortable in assuming that Lennox hadn't read the file that Galloway had on her. Lennox was convinced that she was trustworthy of keeping the bots a secret, only having her fill out enough confidentiality forms to keep the brass off his back. Once she had told him all she knew and all Mirage had told her about cybertronians Lennox told her more about how they had first arrived on earth.

She listened, wide-eyed, as Lennox told her about how Megatron had been discovered frozen in the arctic ice generations ago. He told her all about the events before and leading up to the battle in Mission city, which Megan recalled had been called a terrorist attack when it happened last year. It was a lot easier to believe than an alien civil war come to earth but Megan felt like almost nothing could surprise her anymore.

Famous last words.

She was shocked to learn that a human had killed the leader of the Decepticons, a kid who was just a year or so younger than her at that. The sudden destruction of the Allspark was also a nasty surprise. She worried in the back of her mind for Mirage and how he had taken the news. Then Lennox told her of the Allspark fragment that just a few months ago had brought Jazz back to life before soon after being stolen and used to also revive Megatron. Apparently right after his resurrection the Decepticons had retreated to another planet in the solar system, and were now only occasionally showing up to steal energy.

"Wait, back up. Jazz was dead?" Megan was pretty sure her jaw was hanging somewhere around her knees. She'd have to pick that up sometime.

"Yup. It took Ratchet months to put him back together again and apparently they weren't sure if it would even work. Optimus described it as making a kind of opening and giving Jazz the option of coming back if he wanted to. Whatever they did it worked and now he's back, though Ratchet refuses to let him off light duty right now. Understandable since he's only been back for three months. He sure managed to scare the living day lights out of a lot of the soldiers on base though."

"I can imagine." Megan mumbled, her once solid conviction that death was a solid and permanent thing shaken. Mortality was one thing she disliked to think about let alone question.

Lennox checked the time on his watch, he still had a little time before his meeting.

"I also wanted to talk to you about where you'll be staying and the possibility of getting you a Guardian."

"Guardian?" Megan asked, confused by the term.

"That's right. That's what the bots call it when one of them is assigned to protect you, though sometimes it goes a little deeper than that." Lennox continued speaking before Megan could ask what he meant by that.

"Normally we would just put a civilian like you into a witness protection program for a short period of time until things died down. Unfortunately the Decepticons saw you with Mirage which means you're an even bigger target. The safest option is for you to stay here at base for the time being. I can talk to Optimus and he can have a Guardian assigned to you. If the time frame Mirage told us is true then we can expect the Decepticons to try something within two months, which gives us some time to prepare. I hope you don't mind postponing your trip for a bit."

Megan's mouth went dry at the thought of having to stay. Though she wouldn't mind getting to know all the bots better and staying close to Mirage she knew that it simply wasn't an option. Staying meant getting attached and getting attached wasn't an option for her, especially if she didn't want anyone else to know about her illness.

"Actually, I'm afraid I can't delay my trip. Though your offer is great and all, I can't take it. I was hoping to leave again as soon as I'm better." Megan said. Lennox just stared at her like she had just turned down a million dollar lottery ticket before his face tightened with concern.

"I don't think you realize the danger you're in Megan. Experience has made it pretty clear that the Decepticons won't leave you alone just because you left us. If you leave base we cannot guarantee your safety and chances are they'll find you."

"I understand that Will, but I really can't stay."

_'Can't? Or won't?' _Megan's inner conscience whispered before Megan mentally slugged it and put it back where it belonged.

Lennox's brow was heavily furrowed with unease for Megan, as he leaned forward on his chair and clasped his fists together. However he could see that changing her mind wouldn't be an easy thing to do, and there was nothing he could do to keep her on base short of arresting her. Lennox sighed heavily.

"All right but the offer still stands should you change your mind."

"I'll keep that in mind." Megan said, even while making a mental note that it wasn't an option. Lennox checked the time and suppressed a sigh. It was time for him to go to yet another video conference with yet another stuffy politician. Hound had yet to reappear with Megan's things.

"Looks like Hound is late, and I have to get to my meeting. Did you want some help getting back to the med bay?"

"No it's fine. I'll wait here for Hound to come back."

Megan waved Lennox away with a smile, the soldier quickly leaving the room with a long legged stride. Megan cleaned the kitchen and the few dishes she had used before sitting down and looking at the clock. It was only three in the afternoon but now that she was fed Megan felt exhausted. She wondered if she could find her way back to the med bay without getting turned around but decided against it. Not only would she get lost searching for it but Megan doubted that she had the strength to make the long walk on her own. She was still weary from the asthma attack. So instead Megan put her head down on her folded arms and closed her tired eyes, thinking about everything Lennox had told her.

She was worried about Mirage. With the Allspark destroyed there was no way they could go home, and Mirage had obviously desired nothing more than to return to Cybertron. Megan hoped he would be alright, for all his bluster and pretentious personality he was really quite thoughtful. After some time deep in thought Megan eventually began to doze, still perched on the kitchen stool with her head pillowed on her arms. She was once again nearly sent sprawling from her chair in surprise when a loud voice spoke up behind her.

"Hey lil' lady."

Drowsiness quickly forgotten she shot Jazz a bleary-eyed glare. The silver bots blue visor simply glowed brighter as she gave her a dazzling smile in return. Megan was not charmed.

"What is with everyone sneaking up behind and scaring me?" She huffed childishly, not really upset but annoyed that a giant metal alien could be so thoroughly silent.

"Ya make it too easy." Jazz chuckled and kneeled so they were closer to the same height. It really didn't shorten the distance by much, but to Megan it was the thought that counted.

"Shouldn't ya be in the med bay? I didn't think the Hatchet would willingly let ya out for at least a week, or did ya escape?" Jazz jokingly chastised her, folding his arms with mock severity.

"No. Hatchet- I mean Ratchet, let Hound take me out of the med bay to get some food. Then Lennox showed up and wanted to talk so Hound thought he'd go look for my missing things. Lennox left-" She glanced at the clock.

"About an hour ago. I guess I dozed off waiting for Hound to come and bring me back." Megan shrugged not really minding waiting for Hound, the longer she was out of the med bay the better. Jazz tisked and shook his helm.

"Hound should know better than ta keep a lady waitin', or Ratchet for that matter. Come on, I'll take ya back. If yer goin' ta sleep it should be in the med bay." Jazz said and lowered his servo.

Megan sighed in defeat and walked over to his outstretched hand. Once she was curled into the palm Jazz lifted her up and began navigating the large hallways of the base. Though the drop to the floor was not as high due to Jazz's lack of height Megan was having a hard time with Jazz's clawed fingertips. Compared to Hound's round and blunted hands, Jazz's were much more like a Decepticons. She couldn't help the small tremble that ran up her spine right along where Crankcase had sunk his talon into her back. Forcefully reminding herself that Jazz was not Crankcase she focused on something else. At the height Jazz was holding her she could plainly see the scar-like mar on his chassis where he had been torn in two. Jazz, who had looked down at her when he felt her shiver, saw the appraising look she was giving his war wound.

"Ah imagine Lennox told ya about wha' happened ta me. Not very pretty is it?" He joked weakly. Megan frowned at the false smile Jazz was putting on his face plates but decided to play along anyway.

"No it's not, but you know a lot of women find scars attractive. You might just have to beat them off with a stick if it doesn't heal completely."

Jazz gave a genuine laugh which Megan could feel through his hand. It was much easier to ignore the claws while looking up into Jazz's face, easier to remind herself that Crankcase was far away. Hopefully.

"Primus forbid I get any sexier." Jazz chuckled with a wiggle of his optic ridges.

Megan rolled her eyes with a smile and glanced at the scar again. It was a lighter silver color than the rest of his armor, slightly raised weld marks crisscrossing like a spider's web. It looked to be healing well and was almost invisible unless you were looking for it, or right up to his chest like she was. She looked up at Jazz, who was still walking slowly down the hall with a half-smile, obviously thinking of something else. A question burned on her tongue begging to be asked and before she could herself she spoke up.

"Did it hurt?"

Jazz came to a sudden stop, looking down at her in surprise at her childish query. Megan immediately felt embarrassment and guilt well up in her stomach as her face turned red and she began twisting her fingers. She looked down at her hands, afraid of looking up to see that she had offended him by asking such an insensitive question. She mentally reprimanded herself for being so obtuse.

_'Duh it hurt you moron! He was torn in half! He probably doesn't want to talk about it, especially to some teenager he just met. Stupid!'_

Megan was so busy chastising herself in her head she almost missed Jazz's question.

"The dying or the coming back?"

Megan looked up at him with wide eyes, surprised. Her answer slipped out of her mouth before she knew her answer.

"The dying." She whispered, she worried she was going too far. Surely he didn't want to talk about this?

"Actually I don't remember much of it."

Jazz gave her a smile, seemingly completely at ease with their current topic to her astonishment.

"I remember Megzy picking me up, I remember shouting an' shootin' at 'im, and after that it's all a dark nothin'. Next thing I know I'm wakin' up ta Ratchet welcomin' meh back."

"That's all you can remember?"

"Well I do remember saying ta Ratchet that I couldn't be in the Well of Allsparks if he was there. He hit meh with his wrench."

"He hit you just after bringing you back?" Megan exclaimed, slightly horrified.

"Naw, it was more of a love tap." Jazz chuckled. "Only knocked me offline for a breem or two."

Megan wasn't sure if Jazz was kidding or not but decided against asking. Jazz started walking again, his sedately pace was a lot like the swaying of a ship and quite pleasant.

"Ya know, yur the first one ta ask meh about the whole accident. Most everybody an' everybot avoids even mentionin' Mission city around meh." Megan shrugged uncomfortably, but another question was burning to be asked again.

"Do you remember anything in-between?"

Jazz shook his head no, and Megan wasn't sure if she wanted to be disappointed or happy that he couldn't remember.

"But-"

Megan looked up to see a very unsure look on Jazz's metal face.

"While I don't remember anythin', when I try to think back to it I get a very funny feelin' in mah spark." Jazz tapped his chassis with his other hand.

"I can't explain it very well, but it's like somebot's telling me not ta worry about dyin' again. Not 'cause it won't ever happen again, but 'cause whatever's on the other side's not somethin' I need ta be afraid of. Ya know?" Jazz looked down at her a half-smile on his face.

Megan didn't know the feeling he was talking about, but hearing him talk about it somehow comforted her. Jazz had been to the other side and came back, so if he wasn't worried then neither would she. The tiny countless 'what if' fears that always raged in the back of her mind stilled and calmed, just a little. Megan nodded, and a strange feeling of weightlessness wrapped around her chest, but that could have been the sandwich she ate.

They arrived at the med bay only to have the doors swing aside and the sight of a very agitated Ratchet to greet them.

"Slag. He's cleaning his tools, that means he's fragged off." Jazz muttered and shifted nervously only to freeze when Ratchet caught sight of the pair of them.

Jazz moved swiftly to set Megan on a berth, while Ratchet set aside his tools. Megan crossed her arms and tried not to smile at the medic's grumpy look.

"You're late." The medic said to Megan as he came over and looked the pair of them over.

"Sorry, you didn't exactly say when I had to be back by. Hound went to find my missing things. He must have gotten held up." Megan said unrepentantly, she would have preferred to not have to return to the med bay at all.

"Fragger. I told him not to leave you on your own. You're still weak from the overreaction of your respiratory and immune systems." Ratchet groused crossly.

"Take it easy Ratchet. It's not the like she's going to keel over at any moment, and even if she did your right here." Jazz teased lightly with a shit-eating grin at the CMO.

Ratchet glared at Jazz for a moment before grabbing the cheeky mech by his shoulder plates and all but picking the smaller bot up off his peds.

"You shouldn't be talking. Besides it's time for your tune-up." Ratchet said with a wicked gleam in his optics. Jazz squawked indignantly, protesting and wiggling for escape.

"A tune-up? Ya did one just last week." Jazz tried to reason, with just a hint of a whine.

"Well you need another, so sit down before I put you into stasis for a week. I had better do another systems flush while we're at it." Ratchet threatened even as Jazz managed to duck away from him.

Megan could only just stand on the massive berth and watch with barely suppressed mirth at the sight of Jazz dodging and ducking around the medic. Neither the CMO nor Jazz really noticed when Hound walked into the med bay, a curious and very confused expression on his faceplates. Hound turned to Megan.

"Do I even want to know?"

"Probably not." Megan chuckled as Hound passed her the well missed backpack. The black material was a little dirtier but it looked like all of her things were thee, including her inhaler.

"Thanks Hound. Do you know where there's a shower I can use?"

"There's one just through that door."

Hound lowered her from the berth to the floor and pointed her toward a human sized door off to one side of the med bay. Megan looked back at the scuffling bots behind her before shutting the door. Ratchet finally noticed Hound and his cursing turned into scolding as he reprimanded Hound for leaving her alone. Jazz saw this as his opportunity and tried to stealthily sneak out the med bay door, only to get clocked by one of Ratchet's wrenches. The movement had been so quick Megan hadn't even seen Ratchet reach for the tool. She could only shake her head in amusement and slight astonishment. Never in her wildest imagination could she have imagined she would stand in the same room with giant alien robots, and the day that it became normal for her would be a strange day indeed.

* * *

Earlier:

Mirage was grateful to leave the med bay, his systems running at full efficiency for the first time in vorns. Ratchet's treatment had been less than gentle but the medic hadn't let his displeasure interfere with the quality of his work. Mirage was tempted to linger should Megan return, but quashed the feeling immediately and angrily strode away from the medical wing. He should have gone to recharge, to rest for the sleepless nights of the past few days. Instead he exited the main hanger into the bright sunlight of a Nevada summer and transformed down into his alt mode. A few soldiers stopped and gaped in envy but Mirage was too busy peeling out to preen in the admiration. He always did his best thinking during a drive, and he was all too aware that he was running out of time to make up his mind. His speed steadily increased as he became immersed in his thoughts, until he was nothing but a speeding red blur around the perimeter of the base.

As much as Mirage tried to deny it, Hound had been right. Megan was not just another human to him. He still thought of most humans as weak, unevolved, lacking in both common sense and honor. The disdain he had for the native species of this planet had been obvious the moment he had heard of them. While his team had been fascinated (or in Hounds case enthralled) by the tiny beings, Mirage had been revolted. He tempered his revulsion with indifference and his own sense of duty as an Autobot to follow his Prime. If Optimus believed that these humans were worth protecting then he would do as ordered, even if he did not agree. Then by some will of Primus Mirage had found Megan and for some reason he had not been appalled by her organic nature.

Mirage couldn't understand why he hadn't been repulsed by her. After all, she was still just another messy, easily broken, primitive, violent, tiny, short-lived human. However, over the days she that she had spent talking to him in Al's old dusty barn and fixing his paint he hadn't really minded that fact. Then, after the Decepticons had chased them and he had been forced to reveal himself to her she had stayed with him. Though Megan had kept on a good face, Mirage had known that she had been very frightened of him that first day they met. In the days that followed their unorthodox introduction Mirage had found himself unable to apply all that he thought he knew about humans to Megan. Yes she was still just another tiny human but he discovered she was also proud, short-tempered, loyal to a fault and with no sense of self-preservation. She didn't seem to understand, or she ignored, just how fragile she was to the metal giants she was against. She kept her word and had a sense of integrity stronger than even his own.

Mirage was suddenly distracted from his thoughts by the loud and unexpectedly close sound of cannon fire. For a split second Mirage almost assumed that the base was under attack. A quick scan showed that the surrounding area was clear of any Decepticon signatures. Only one bot other than himself was nearby and was obviously the source of the noise, Ironhide was practicing at the nearby firing range. Mirage checked his speed and maneuvered toward the bot, being sure to keep out of his line of fire. The firing range was more like a large field pockmarked with craters, a few weeds and the scrap parts of the disabled machinery NEST let him use for targets. The weapons specialist gave no indication that he heard Mirage's approach, simply lined up his next shot and fired.

Mirage said nothing as he transformed back into bi-pedal mode and stood a few paces to the side, unsure how to begin. The only bots who could advise him on a Guardian bond to a human were Bumblebee and Ironhide. Since the yellow scout was not due back at base until tomorrow that left Mirage with only one option. The crimson spy was uncomfortable with discussing something so personal with anybot, let alone Ironhide. The weapons specialist and Mirage did not see optic to optic on many things. Ironhide was a mech of action, a blunt and forward fighter both on and off the battle field.

Mirage however was far more subtle and preferred what Ironhide would refer to as 'dirty tricks' when fighting, and fighting only if diplomacy failed, thus creating a conflict of interests. They didn't allow it to affect their duties as soldiers but it did create tension outside of combat. It didn't help that Ironhide held nothing but disdain for Mirage's upbringing in the Towers. The feeling was mutual and Mirage was highly uncomfortable with sharing such information with the black mech. However Mirage also knew that Ironhide would be more likely to join the Decepticons then gossip about another mech's private life. Ironhide tinkered with his cannon for a moment adjusting some component or other, still ignoring Mirage's presence. Mirage was just beginning to ponder how he should approach the topic when Ironhide spoke.

"Either start firing, leave, or take an image capture, it'll last longer." The large black bot said with all the bluntness of a sledge hammer before lining up his next shot.

Mirage refrained from venting a sigh, a habit he had picked up from Megan and took out his blaster. It was a slender weapon, with much less fire power than Ironhide's more impressive cannons. However what he lacked in firepower Mirage more than made up for in accuracy. Dropping to one knee for more stability he took aim at one of the farthest targets, a small truck which was almost a mile away, and fired. The resulting destruction was somehow satisfying and for several minutes the only sound was one of cannon fire. It wasn't a companionable silence but wasn't so uncomfortable Mirage felt he should leave. Once again it was Ironhide who broke the silence between them first.

"So what brings you out here? It can't be for the company." Ironhide adjusted another component before firing another shot, which missed, resulting in a few choice swear words in cybertronian. Mirage paused, wondering how to start and put away his blaster to face Ironhide without any distractions. If Ironhide noticed the change in Mirage's focus he chose to ignore it and continued to adjust his weapon. Mirage decided there was no other way but to come right out with it, after all Ironhide had no patience for anything but the blunt truth.

"I find myself in need of advice." Mirage said offhandedly, looking out over the shooting range. Ironhide looked up from his cannon to shoot the haughty spy a narrow look.

"You? The Towers mech, askin' for my advice. Well I'm honored." Ironhide drawled sardonically before firing his cannon, sending yet another truck sky high. Mirage gritted his dental plates trying to control his temper. Mirage's normally collected emotions had been thrown into turmoil over the past few days, which had resulted in an anger that bubbled dangerously close to the surface. Unwilling to let Ironhide get the better of him Mirage kept his faceplates stoic and continued.

"I hear you have found yourself with a human charge."

Ironhide must have mistaken Mirage's tone for one of disdain because the black mech stiffened and glared at Mirage. Though the two bots were about the same height Mirage suddenly felt as if Ironhide was looming over him. It was a look that would have made most mech's fuel pumps skip a beat, particularly since Ironhide still had both cannons primed for shooting. Mirage was not too concerned. Ironhide couldn't shoot him without good reason, or at least not without getting a lot of brig time. So he hoped anyway. Then again, Ironhide could always claim it was a misfire, they were on the practice range after all and accidents have been known to happen. The two mechs stared each other down for several moments. The weapons specialist, seeming to have thought better than to shoot Mirage, turned and fired two quick and lethal blasts at a small tank.

"What of it?" Ironhide grunted, a warning tenor under the question cautioned Mirage not to push his luck. Mirage again resisted the urge to vent a sigh and seriously considered waiting to talk to Bumblebee. At least the yellow mech was easier to talk to, despite being limited to comm link. Mirage decided it would be cowardly of him to not finish the conversation that he had started. He also reminded himself that he needed more than one point of view in order on the matter to make the necessary decision.

"Ratchet has informed me that I am developing a Guardian bond." Mirage ground out of his vocal processor.

It was still a difficult thing for Mirage to say, even now his spark was demanding that he go and see Megan. The scant few seconds that he had had with her before Hound had taken her away had not been near enough to reassure him that she was alright. Again Mirage put up walls of coding around his spark, the bond itched uncomfortably but Mirage was unwilling to allow it room to grow. The bond was persistant, and seemed to refuse any attempt to completely stifle it. Mirage judged that he likely had only days to make up his mind before his spark made it up for him, he was running out of time. Ironhide looked at Mirage in surprise powering down his cannons and gave him a thoughtful, if slightly suspicious, expression.

"It's to that kid ya brought with ya?"

Mirage nodded stiffly, looking out over the firing range and not meeting Ironhide's optics. Even now he was unwilling to think of Megan lest he should accidentally let the bond grow.

"An' ya don't want the bond, do ya?"

Mirage looked back at Ironhide, meeting his optics.

"I am… unsure, if I wish to keep the bond or not." Mirage replied, an uncharacteristic note of uncertainty in his voice. Ironhide snorted with derision, turning his attention back to his cannon. Mirage was about to take offence when Ironhide spoke, cutting off whatever retort he had been about to say.

"So what? Ya want me to tell ya to accept it? Or maybe ya want me to say it not worth it, that you're better off with the pain of a spark-breaking. Is that it?" Ironhide's questions were angry and harsh. As Ironhide destroyed yet another target Mirage took a second to actually consider what exactly it was he wanted to know.

"Why." He did not say it as a question, but a statement.

Ironhide froze at his words, the cannon he had been aiming lowering to his side and powering down as he turned to look at Mirage.

"Why do you keep your bond? The last bot I expected to have formed a bond to a human would be you Ironhide. I would more expect you to be complaining that we have to stay and protect them. However, instead of asking Ratchet to remove it you kept it, why?"

Ironhide seemed surprised at Mirage's line of questioning and for several moments considered the question.

"Well unlike Bee, mine was a slow growing bond. After a few days when it first showed up I could tell what it was but couldn't understand how it could be. At first I ignored it, thinking it was just a glitch in my processor or scanners. Naturally I refused t' go ta Ratchet, the idea of a bond to a human was too absurd for me to even consider. It wasn't till it was about half developed that I acknowledged it for what it was." Ironhide vented a sigh, looking at Mirage with his full attention.

"I'm guessing yours is slow growing as well, eh?" Ironhide grunted, and Mirage nodded.

"Well I did what you're doing now, I fought it. I didn't want the slaggin' bond either, so I stayed as far away from my charge as possible and walled off my spark. I thought it'd be fine and that the bond would eventually fade since it wasn't fully formed. I was wrong." Ironhide seemed lost in his thoughts, his optics unfocused as he seemed to talk to himself more than to Mirage.

"Bee says the forming of his bond was like a flash of lightning, sudden and almost instant like a normal cybertronian Guardian bond forms. My personal opinion is that Bee's formed like that 'cause he's got a spark that's more open, less guarded and jaded. I'm sure Ratchet or Wheeljack could tell me some science-y mumbo-jumbo that could explain it, but that's what I think. Then there are bonds like ours…" Ironhide turned and looked at Mirage, his expression was one that Mirage couldn't immediately place.

"The slow growing ones are more like trees growing on rocks. The rock can stand as firm as it fraggin' well wants, but the roots will find even the smallest crack and over time the stone will break open like an egg. We try to throw up walls around our sparks, trying to stop the bond but it only slows 'em down. Eventually the walls break. I don't know how an' Ratchet is still trying to figure out the science of it, but it seems like no matter what we do these human find a way to wiggle into our sparks." Ironhide spoke gruffly, but there was an undertone of fondness in his voice as well.

"I fought my spark, trying to stop the bond but just like the rock, eventually the walls cracked and fell within a few days. I could'a gone to Ratchet and have him try to stop it or help me break it but…" Ironhide shook his head, almost ruefully.

"I didn't. For a few reasons like; because I'll never enter the fraggin' med bay willingly and I'm more stubborn then the pit being just two reasons." Ironhide chuckled as if proud of his stubborn tenacity. The smile faded and Ironhide became serious.

"But the main reason is because I realized something you haven't yet." Ironhide returned his attention back to his cannon, adjusting and tightening various wires and gears. Several minutes of silence went by before Mirage could bring himself to ask.

"What did you realize?"

Ironhide glanced at him from the corner of his optics.

"Lemme answer ya with another question. Do ya know what's hard about living on an organic planet? It's the fact that we're cybertronian."

Mirage opened his mouth to question Irohhide's strange comment but the older bot held up a servo, cutting him off.

"Lemme finish, it's not every vorn I find myself getting profound an' sounding like Optimus." Ironhide huffed impatiently. Mirage fell silent and waited for the bot to gather his thoughts. The weapons specialist scanned the firing range, and Mirage couldn't tell if he was searching for another target or the right words to say. It was likely the former. Eventually Ironhide spoke again, sounding much older than he did before.

"Until my bond to my charge formed I was against Optimus's decision to stay and make this our new home. Let's face it, this place ain't no Cybertron, it's not and never will be. The destruction of the Allspark was the death of the last fraggin' hope we had to ever see Cybertron again." Mirage nodded, for once in agreement with Ironhide. Though Mirage would never say so, he had always held a small hope in his spark that someday they would return to Cybertron. The destruction of the hope that had carried him through the darkest times of the war was unbearable. It would take a long time for Mirage to accept that as a fact, if ever.

"Not only do we have to live in hiding from most humans but there's also the fact that Earth is a planet of change. It thrives on it and that's how it lives. Cybertronians weren't built to change, yes we can adapt and transform to any given situation and come out on top, but in the end we aren't any different. We both have been alive longer than this planet has existed, and we will live long after it has died. As long as we have a supply of energon, fresh parts, and the Decepticons don't get us first we will continue to exist." Mirage was stunned; he had never heard Ironhide speak like this before. The weapons specialist turned to him, not yet done.

"That's why I was against making this our home. It's only temporary. Ya we may be here for a long time but eventually we'll have to find somewhere else because this place will change until eventually it leaves us behind. I used to think it would be better if we left it before it left us." Ironhide turned back to his weapon but Mirage could tell that he was no longer seeing it, staring off into something else. Mirage thought for a moment, letting what Ironhide had said sink in.

"What changed? You said that your bond changed you mind in making earth our temporary home. How? What changed?" It didn't escape Mirage the irony of using the word change. Ironhide answered absently, still looking at something Mirage couldn't see in the distance.

"The bond fully formed. That's what changed my processor that Earth could be our home. When ya Guardian bond to another cybertronian, spark-break only happens because of ifs. The spark-break will only happen_ if_ your charge dies, _if_ the Decepticons get them, _if_ they don't get energon for vorns, or _if_ your charge willingly breaks the bond. We don't change easily. With bonding to a human, who was made to eventually change, spark-break is only a matter of _when_. I could have gone to Ratchet an' have him take the fragging Guardian protocols off. It would have hurt like the pit but it would save me from the unavoidable spark-break and be less painful, but I didn't. I couldn't." The look that Ironhide gave Mirage was one made of pure steel, all determination and resolve to his choice. Mirage found that he couldn't look away from those piercing optics even if he wanted to.

"When my bond finished I realized that I couldn't stop change, not even Primus could stop the flow of time that we seem to be immune to. But there was something I could do. _I could make the most of it._ While it pains my spark that someday I'll have to say goodbye to my charge's, I don't' plan on wastin' an astrosecond. I plan on making the pain of the spark-break worth the happiness they bring to me. That's why I kept the bond and why Earth is my new home, because this is where my charges call home."

"So, to answer your first question, if ya should keep your bond or not? Ya have to ask yourself: If your charge left tomorrow and broke the bond, would the time ya spent with her be worth the pain of spark-break?" Mirage was too shocked to immediately answer the question.

Both bots stood in silence for several minutes. Finally after several minutes Ironhide nodded and looked away from the stunned spy, as if satisfied that Mirage had heard and understood what he had been trying to say. Once he was released from the weapon specialists gaze Mirage felt like he had been hit by a highway's worth of cars. His strong resolve to have the bond removed was now flickering with doubt, making him feel unsteady. Ironhide seemed to notice and laid a firm, but not ungentle servo, on Mirage's shoulder plates helping him find his balance again. It took Mirage a moment to arrange his thoughts and find something to say without his vocal processor shaking.

"Thank you, for your words of wisdom. You have given me much to think about." Mirage was able to say calmly, even if the words did sound much less confident than they normally would have. Ironhide snorted and chuckled at Mirage's formal tone, giving Mirage a sudden push that almost sent him sprawling.

"Don't get used to it, Tower's mech. Just don't slag it up 'cause ya won't get a second chance ya hear?" Mirage could have sworn that Ironhide's tone was less patronizing when speaking to him than usual, but let it go for the moment.

"Until next time then." Mirage said with a deeper bow of his head than he normally would give to the weapons specialist.

Ironhide didn't look up from his weapon he merely grunted what could have passed for a 'see you later', or it could have been a 'go frag yourself', as Mirage transformed and drove away. Mirage continued driving, his processor and spark even more confused than when he had started. If anything the talk with Ironhide had only served to raise more questions to which Mirage didn't know any of the answers. For quite some time Mirage wandered aimlessly around the base. He had no duties at the moment, he lamented the fact he had nothing to distract him.

Eventually, and against his better judgement Mirage found himself once more standing outside of the med bay doors. Only just hours ago he had wanted nothing more than to go in and check on Megan, and now he hesitated. Mirage was unaccustomed to the feeling of doubt, especially doubt in himself or his abilities. For eons the only things he had ever wanted was to see the war end, return to Cybertron and to offline Crankcase, and not necessarily in that order. Now however it seemed like the war would never end, Cybertron was lost to them, and at the moment killing Crankcase was a far away and empty hallucination.

Mirage was unsure what it was he wanted. He didn't want a charge or a Guardian bond, and yet his spark said differently. Still torn with indecision and highly aware of the time he was losing to make his choice Mirage walked away from the med bay doors without a second glance. Perhaps a full nights recharge would help him to clear his processor, and if not Bumblebee was arriving at base tomorrow morning. Maybe a talk with the scout would help him to make his decision, to help him decide what it is he wanted.

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**Phew! Big chapter, a lot of writer's block. I hope no one was too out of character here, Ironhide makes me nervous for some reason, idk. So kittens, remember to read and review because I know you are out there. I have over ten thousand hits and a hundred followers but my review box sometimes looks a little skimpy. Reviews are my muse's food so feed the hungry muse! Read and Review! And remember to go take a look at Sparkbeats, you'll find it on my profile.**


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